With the trial sites now open for its CRISPR-edited T-cell receptor immunotherapy trial, Anocca AB has raised SEK440 million (US$46 million) to fund the phase I part of the multicenter study to completion. The company’s engineered T-cell receptor T-cell therapy (TCR-T) is first being tested against KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer.
Anocca AB has secured the first regulatory authorization in Europe for a CRISPR-Cas gene-edited T-cell receptor T-cell therapy trial, with the phase I/II study now due to start over the next three months at sites in Sweden, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Dark genome miner Enara Bio Ltd. has closed a $32.5 million series B that will see the lead program targeting the first of a novel class of cancer antigens it has discovered through to the clinic. Enara calls these cancer antigens “dark antigens” (the name is trademarked). It says they can be found in solid tumors irrespective of the immune phenotype, and are often expressed at high prevalence across multiple different tumors.
Dark genome miner Enara Bio Ltd. has closed a $32.5 million series B that will see the lead program targeting the first of a novel class of cancer antigens it has discovered through to the clinic. Enara calls these cancer antigens “dark antigens” (the name is trademarked). It says they can be found in solid tumors irrespective of the immune phenotype, and are often expressed at high prevalence across multiple different tumors.
Repertoire Immune Medicines Inc. has entered a multiyear strategic collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) to develop tolerizing vaccines for up to three autoimmune diseases.
A week after Bristol Myers Squibb Co. disclosed a significant restructuring plan to focus on long-term growth drivers, the big pharma partnered with Repertoire Immune Medicines Inc. in an early stage, multiyear collaboration to develop T-cell targeted medicines for up to three autoimmune diseases, paying $65 million up front, with a potential $1.8 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, along with tiered royalties.
Replay Holdings LLC has entered into an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for intellectual property related to a library of T-cell receptors (TCRs) directed against multiple cancer neoantigens.
Etcembly emerged from stealth mode in August with something it regards as seemingly impossible: A machine learning platform that has the ability to predict and engineer – at never-seen-before scale and speed – T-cell receptors (TCR) that enable bispecific T-cell engager antibodies targeting cancer cells to be produced.
Newco T-Therapeutics Ltd. has raised £48 million (US$59 million) in a series A to advance development of T-cell receptors generated by its transgenic mouse platform for the treatment of solid tumors, autoimmune diseases and infections. In cancer, the specificity of T-Therapeutics’ molecules will overcome shortcomings of immuno-oncology drugs such as checkpoint inhibitors that stimulate a response to some cancer neo-antigens but are unable to recognize cancer-specific self-antigens.
