Following the build-out of its own research and development center in University City’s CIC Labs + Innovation Campus, Verismo Therapeutics has raised $7 million toward the advancement of its clinical trial for its SynKIR-110 therapy.
The biotech company, a University of Pennsylvania spinout, develops therapeutics to improve persistence and efficacy against aggressive solid tumors. Its SynKIR-110 therapy trial is assessing the product’s safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy in patients with mesothelin-expressing ovarian cancer, cholangiocarcinoma and mesothelioma.
KIR-CAR T cell therapy is a way to use a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer, Verismo CEO Dr. Bryan Kim told Technical.ly.
“In this therapy, doctors take your white blood cells (called T cells) and genetically re-engineered them so that they can recognize and attack cancer cells,” he said in an email. “These changed cells are then injected back into your body, where they can search for and destroy cancer cells. KIR-CAR T cell therapy is a new way to fight cancer and can help people with certain types of cancer live longer, healthier lives.”
The funding, a pre-Series A round, was led by BRV Capital Management (BRV Capital), which is known for investing in blue chip biopharmaceutical companies such as Arvelle Therapeutics BV and ST Pharmaceutical. Ignite Innovation also invested in the round. The $7 million investment makes a total of $33 million raised since the company launched in 2020.
Besides the ongoing trial for SynKIR-110, the funds will also be used to continue pre-clinical development for Verismo’s SynKIR-310 therapy, and is a step toward advancing future therapies, Kim said.
“We are thrilled to be partnered with world-class investors BRV Capital and Ignite,” Kim said in a statement. “With their support we will be able to make a difference in the lives of patients with cancer. I look forward to working with BRV Capital and Ignite as our partners for our Series A round later this year.”
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