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news.Biotechnology firm Affini-T Therapeutics has raised $175m in an oversubscribed financing round for advancing T cell therapies for solid tumour patients with oncogenic driver mutations.
Affini-T intends to develop therapies targeting oncogenic driver mutations like KRAS and p53. Credit: Ernesto Eslava from Pixabay.
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Co-led by Leaps by Bayer and Vida Ventures, the round has seen participation from other investors including Catalio Capital Management, The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Erasca Ventures, and Agent Capital.
Humboldt Fund, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Alexandria Venture Investments, and other life science investors have also participated in the round.
Affini-T intends to use the funding to advance its T-cell receptor (TCR) platform discovery engine as well as its multiple oncogene driver programmes into the clinic and pursue complementary technology licenses to strengthen its cell therapy platform.
The company is committed to develop potential medicines for intractable solid tumour cancer patients.
It intends to develop therapies targeting oncogenic driver mutations like KRAS and p53 using a TCR discovery engine and a suite of synthetic biology components.
Affini-T Therapeutics co-founder, president and CEO Jak Knowles said: “By targeting oncogenic drivers like mutated KRAS, we strike at the core genetic mutations that enable tumours to grow and spread.
“Our differentiated platform combines highly active TCRs with unique synthetic biology, allowing us to pioneer novel therapeutic approaches intended to eradicate solid tumours.
“With proven management, an unparalleled founding team of scientific innovators and leaders in immunology and cellular engineering, we look forward to bringing life-changing medicines to patients in need.”
The company stated that the TCR platform has the potential to develop therapies for patients with mutant variants of KRAS.
The platform has been designed to select and engineer the right immune cells to orchestrate a durable and coordinated immune response.
