On May 22, 2024 Captain T Cell GmbH, a biotechnology company developing next-generation T cells against solid tumors, reported the successful closing of a seed financing round totaling € 8.5 million (Press release, Captain T Cell, MAY 22, 2024, View Source [SID1234644416]). A syndicate of experienced life science investors including i&i Biotech Fund I SCSp, Brandenburg Kapital GmbH, and HIL-INVENT Ges.m.b.H participated in the round. In addition, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting the Company through its prestigious GO-Bio program. The financing also marks the appointment of biotech veteran Jörn Aldag as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

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The funds will be used to further progress Captain T Cell’s first-in-class lead program towards the clinic along with a novel allogeneic platform for off-the-shelf treatments of solid tumors.

Captain T Cell develops first-in-class efficacy-enhanced TCR-T cells for solid tumors that are not addressed by existing therapies. Using a toolbox of next-generation technologies, Captain T Cell generates TCR-T cells with enhanced persistence and the capacity to cope with the hostile tumor microenvironment of difficult-to-treat solid tumors. In preclinical in vivo models, the Company has been able to completely eradicate aggressive tumors using these efficacy-enhanced T cells. A key technology established by the Captain T Cell team is its proprietary TCR-ALLO platform for off-the-shelf treatment of solid tumors. The TCR-ALLO platform is a versatile tool that can be expanded to a variety of cancer indications.

The Company is a spin-off from the renowned Max Delbrück Center, Berlin, Germany, a leading European biomedical research institution. The institute provided valuable financial and infrastructural support throughout the pre-seed phase and together with its technology transfer partner Ascenion remains a close partner for future endeavors.

Dr. Felix Lorenz, CEO of Captain T Cell, said: "This successful financing round allows us to accelerate our high-potential therapies and brings us closer to providing life-saving options for patients underserved by current treatments. We are steadfast in our mission to progress our lead candidate towards the clinic and to establish our TCR-ALLO platform as a leader in off-the-shelf solid tumor therapeutics."

"We have been following the Captain T Cell team for some time and have been impressed by their scientific depth and management capabilities. The team has generated highly convincing preclinical data. Also, we see tremendous potential in their off-the-shelf approach. It holds the promise of bringing life-saving therapies to patients at much lower cost. If successful, it could be applied to any TCR-T cell therapy currently in development, enabling widespread use of these therapies. Captain T Cell has the potential to become a global leader in the development of novel oncology drugs," said Dr. Jaromir Zahrádka, Managing Partner of i&i Bio.

"T cell-based immunotherapies represent a powerful tool in the challenging fight against solid tumors. We believe Captain T Cell is positioned at the forefront of cancer therapy with its unique toolbox technology approach," said Hao Nam Nguyen, Investment Manager at Brandenburg Kapital. "Brandenburg Kapital looks forward to supporting the highly ambitious team at Captain T Cell and to bringing this very promising project to fruition together with our co-investors and the BMBF funding from the GO-Bio program."

"Captain T Cell combines a powerful proprietary drug development platform with an advanced preclinical product pipeline," commented Dr. Friedrich Hillebrand, Managing Director of HIL-INVENT. "The Company’s programs address a high unmet medical need in the treatment of aggressive solid tumors. We are therefore pleased to participate in the Company’s seed financing round and support its future growth."