With $70 million in hand, Excellergy Inc. is ready to advance its lead candidate for allergic diseases into clinical trials. The series A round was led by Samsara Biocapital with co-investments from Red Tree Venture Capital and Decheng Capital.
Hinge Bio Inc. has obtained IND approval from the FDA to initiate a phase I study of HB-2198 in patients with the B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis. The trial is expected to open this quarter.
Nilo Therapeutics Inc. has launched with a $101 million series A financing and a focus on harnessing neural circuits to restore immune homeostasis in disease.
Tessera Therapeutics Inc. has been awarded up to $41.3 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) as part of its EMBODY (Engineering of immune cells inside the body) program to support the development of Tessera’s in vivo CAR T therapy efforts.
Glycovax Pharma Inc. has entered into a strategic collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Université de Montréal to develop a glycoconjugate vaccine against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, with expected utility for patients with cystic fibrosis and hospitalized individuals at risk of nosocomial infections.
The transition from complex and costly ex vivo strategies to platforms that enable direct cellular intervention within the body, known as in vivo therapies, is marking a paradigm change in the field of gene and cell therapies by simplifying manufacturing, improving tissue targeting and expanding clinical access to treatments.
As the many challenges facing cell therapies are being addressed, the CAR T field continues to evolve beyond its original design of T cells engineered to target hematological malignancies. During the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), held in Seville Oct. 7-10, several studies showed how this technology is being redefined as programmable and adaptable immune cells with expanded functional versatility.