Northern Bio

Northern Biologics was a Toronto-based biotechnology company focused on developing first-in-class antibody therapeutics for oncology and fibrosis. Founded in 2014 by Versant Ventures in collaboration with the University of Toronto, the company leveraged a proprietary antibody discovery platform to target the tumor microenvironment. Its lead program, MSC-1, is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF), a cytokine that promotes tumor progression and immune evasion. In 2020, the company's oncology pipeline and lead assets were acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim to strengthen its cancer immunology portfolio.