T-Therapeutics Secures $133M to Advance Cancer and Autoimmune Disease Therapies Into Clinical Trials

UK biotechnology company T-Therapeutics has raised $133 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing to advance two investigational T cell receptor (TCR)-based therapies toward clinical proof-of-concept in cancer and autoimmune diseases.

The financing was co-led by Advent Life Sciences and British Business Bank, with participation from new investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), Samsara BioCapital, M-Ventures and Eli Lilly and Company. Existing investors, including Sofinnova Partners, F-Prime, Digitalis Ventures, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Sanofi Ventures, Tencent and BGF, also participated.

The proceeds will support clinical development of the company’s two lead TCR-CD3 bispecific programs, one targeting cancer and the other autoimmune disease. Both candidates are built on T-Therapeutics’ proprietary OpTiMus® platform, which generates fully human T cell receptors (TCRs) designed to recognize intracellular targets that have historically been difficult to address with conventional drug development approaches.

In oncology, the company’s lead program is being developed with the potential to address a broad range of solid tumors, an area where T cell engager approaches have faced challenges identifying suitable therapeutic targets. The platform is designed to expand the range of targets available for these therapies by enabling recognition of proteins located inside cells.

The second program focuses on autoimmune disease and takes a different approach to immune modulation. Rather than broadly suppressing immune activity, T-Therapeutics aims to selectively eliminate disease-causing cells responsible for chronic inflammation in affected tissues. The company believes this precision-based strategy could offer a new approach to treating multiple autoimmune conditions where existing therapies provide limited benefit.

The financing will take both programs through initial clinical development and toward proof-of-concept data. As part of the investment, representatives from Advent Life Sciences, British Business Bank, JJDC and Samsara BioCapital will join the company’s board as non-executive directors.

T-Therapeutics has also appointed Dr. Kirsty Crame as chief development officer. She will lead translational and clinical development activities across the pipeline as the company prepares to transition into clinical-stage operations. She brings more than 15 years of experience in biopharmaceutical development, including previous service as chief medical officer at Curatis AG. Her earlier roles include leading early-stage clinical programs at Medigene AG and Gadeta BV, where she gained experience in the development of TCR-based therapeutics.

Theodora Harold, CEO of T-Therapeutics, sats the financing provides the resources needed to accelerate both programs and advance the company’s technology into clinical testing. She highlighted the platform’s ability to access previously undruggable targets as a key component of its approach to developing next-generation T cell engager therapies.

Dominic Schmidt, General Partner at Advent Life Sciences, points to the opportunity to extend T cell engager technology beyond hematological malignancies. While the therapeutic approach has demonstrated clinical success in blood cancers, identifying appropriate targets has been a significant obstacle to expanding its use in solid tumors. He says T-Therapeutics’ platform could help address that limitation by opening access to intracellular targets.

Visit www.t-therapeutics.com for more information.