AvenCell's on/off switch for CAR-T draws $112M series B

AvenCell Therapeutics has secured $112 million in series B financing to advance its universal switchable CAR-T platform, highlighting growing investor confidence in next-generation cell therapy approaches that offer greater control over treatment dynamics.

The company says its technology allows CAR-T cells to be turned "off" and "on" post-administration, potentially allowing for better management of severe adverse events while opening up the therapeutic window.

The financing round was led by Novo Holdings – Novo Nordisk's controlling shareholder – with new investors F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads Ventures Japan, Piper Heartland Healthcare Capital and NYBC Ventures chipping in, alongside founding investor Blackstone Life Sciences. AvenCell launched in 2021 with $250 million in backing from Blackstone, Cellex Cell Professionals and Intellia Therapeutics.

Two-component system

AvenCell's platform combines a universal CAR on engineered T-cells with a separate targeting molecule that directs the T-cells to cancer antigens. According to the company's website, the off-switch works quickly, shutting down T-cells in less than four hours, because the targeting molecules act fast and break down quickly in the body. The universal switchable CARs are also designed to be less suppressed by Tregs by using CD28 instead of 4-1BB in the intracellular signalling domain. 

"The ability to modulate CAR-T cell activity post-infusion could address critical safety and efficacy challenges in current therapies," commented Nihal Sinha, a partner at F-Prime.

The company's lead programmes include the autologous CAR-T known as AVC-101, currently in Phase I testing for relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). It is also advancing AVC-201, a CRISPR-engineered allogeneic CAR-T cell candidate, which entered Phase Ia testing in February. Both programmes are designed to eliminate cells expressing the CD123 receptor, which is known to be overexpressed in nearly all AMLs, and several other haematological malignancies.

Michael Bauer, partner at Novo Holdings, said "AvenCell's universal switchable technology and CRISPR-engineered allogeneic platforms are first-of-its-kind and represent a step change in the field of cell therapy. Both AVC-101 and AVC-201 have already yielded encouraging safety and efficacy results in early clinical trials."