On July 18, 2023 Verismo Therapeutics, a clinical-stage CAR T company, Penn spinout, and pioneer of the novel KIR-CAR platform technology, reported that it has raised $17M in a second pre-Series A financing round (Press release, Verismo Therapeutics, JUL 18, 2023, View Source [SID1234633294]). The financing will support continued advancement of the clinical trial for SynKIR-110, a first-in-class KIR-CAR T cell immunotherapy candidate for solid tumors, and pre-clinical development of SynKIR-310, a KIR-CAR T cell immunotherapy therapeutic for blood cancers.
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The funding round was co-led by DongKoo Bio, HLB Innovation and HLB. The funding will be used to advance multiple programs targeting solid and liquid tumors. With this $17M investment Verismo will have secured a total of $50M in financing since launching in 2020.
About the KIR-CAR Platform
The KIR-CAR platform is a dual-chain CAR T cell therapy and has been shown in preclinical animal models to be capable of maintaining antitumor T cell activity even in challenging solid tumor environments. DAP12 acting as a novel costimulatory molecule for T cells, aids additional T cell stimulating pathways, further sustaining chimeric receptor expression and improving KIR-CAR T cell persistence. This continued T cell function and persistence can lead to ongoing regression of solid tumors in preclinical models, including those refractory to traditional CAR T cell therapies. Furthermore, the KIR-CAR platform can be combined with many additional emerging technologies, such as in vivo gene engineering, advanced cell manufacturing and reprogramming, combinational therapies, and even allogeneic cellular therapies to provide the next-generation multimodal targeted immunotherapy for patients in need.