On March 17, 2020 Eureka Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel T cell therapies for solid tumors, reported that it has closed a $45 million Series E financing (Press release, Eureka Therapeutics, MAR 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234555652]). The round was led by Lyell Immunopharma and joined by a syndicate of new and prior investors. In addition to the financing, Eureka and Lyell have entered into a strategic collaboration to develop therapies against several undisclosed solid tumor targets expressed across multiple cancer types.
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The Company will use proceeds from the Series E round to advance its proprietary TCR-mimic and antibody-TCR ARTEMIS programs, including Eureka’s anti-AFP ARTEMIS Phase I/II clinical trial in the United States for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the predominant type of liver cancer.
TCR-mimics represent a novel way to target solid tumors. Whereas the current generation of CAR-T therapies exclusively recognize cell-surface targets, most cancer-associated proteins are found intracellularly and are considered ‘undruggable’ with conventional small molecule or antibody drugs. TCR-mimic antibodies recognize the same tumor specific peptide/MHC complexes as TCRs but with better affinity and specificity.
"Eureka’s TCR-mimic and ARTEMIS technologies are very promising. We look forward to working with them to improve the efficacy of engineered T cells in solid tumors," said Dr. Rick Klausner, Founder and CEO of Lyell, who also co-founded Juno Therapeutics and GRAIL and served as the 11th Director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
"We are delighted by the vote of confidence from Lyell and other investors in our TCR-mimic and ARTEMIS platforms," said Dr. Cheng Liu, Founder and CEO of Eureka Therapeutics. "This financing and strategic collaboration with Lyell represents a strategic inflection point for Eureka and will enable us to accelerate the development of novel therapies for patients."