Led · Series B · Oct 2022

Vita Therapeutics develops iPSC-based cellular therapeutics aimed at repairing and replacing defective muscle cells and creating cancer immunotherapies. Its lead programs include VTA-100 for LGMD2A (in IND-enabling studies), VTA-120 for FSHD, and VTA-300, a CAR-based cancer immunotherapy. VTA-100 and VTA-120 are designed as autologous treatments combining gene correction with iPSC technology; the company intends to pursue a dual strategy beginning with autologous cells and later moving to a universal hypoimmunogenic cell line. Vita is working with partners including PanCella, the Wyss Institute, and Johns Hopkins University to advance its programs. The company aims to file Investigational New Drug applications for VTA-100 within the next 18 months. Financially, Vita completed a $31 million Series B and has raised $66 million since inception. Vita Therapeutics is a cell engineering company that uses induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology and genetic engineering to develop autologous and universal hypoimmunogenic cellular therapies for muscular dystrophies. Its lead program, VTA-100, combines gene correction with iPSC-derived muscle stem cells and is undergoing IND-enabling studies for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) 2A/R1. A second program, VTA-200, is a genetically engineered hypoimmunogenic iPSC-derived treatment intended to address multiple muscular dystrophies, and the company is also developing VTA-300 (cell type undisclosed). Vita plans to complete IND-enabling studies for VTA-100, submit an IND to the FDA, manufacture cells for clinical evaluation, and recruit patients for its first trial. The company follows a dual manufacturing strategy—starting autologously before moving to a universal hypoimmunogenic cell line—and was founded in 2019 out of Johns Hopkins University and the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Vita is a Cambrian Biopharma affiliate and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. The oversubscribed $32 million Series A will fund completion of IND-enabling work, cell manufacturing, patient recruitment, and further development of VTA-200 and VTA-300.

Participated · Series C · Apr 2021

Arcellx is a Gaithersburg, Md.-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing a pipeline of adaptive and controllable cell therapies. Its platform (ARC-SparX) underlies cell therapy candidates including CART-ddBCMA and ACLX-001/ACLX-002. CART-ddBCMA is a BCMA-specific CAR-modified T-cell therapy currently in Phase 1 with a pivotal trial anticipated to begin in 2022. The company plans to use newly raised funds to develop CART-ddBCMA and to initiate clinical trials for ACLX-001 (multiple myeloma) and ACLX-002 (acute myelogenous leukemia). Financially, Arcellx completed a $115M Series C financing. The company is led by Chairman and CEO Rami Elghandour. Arcellx is a biopharmaceutical company developing an ARC-T + sparX intelligent cell therapy platform. The proprietary platform uses sparX soluble proteins to bind one or more tumor antigens and engage a universal receptor on engineered Antigen-Receptor Complex T cells (ARC-T), forming a sparX+ARC-T+tumor complex that mediates tumor killing. The company is advancing a pipeline that includes a bivalent BCMA-targeted ARC-T for multiple myeloma and a CD123-targeted therapy for acute myeloid leukemia, plus earlier-stage programs targeting solid tumors and diseases outside oncology. Arcellx positions the approach as improving safety and efficacy relative to conventional CAR-T therapies while broadening patient access and enabling scalable, efficient manufacturing. The company plans to begin clinical testing of its lead BCMA-targeted therapy in the coming months. Arcellx is based in Montgomery County, Maryland, and recently raised $85 million in a Series B to fund clinical and earlier-stage development.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2021

Sensei Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation immunotherapies using its proprietary ImmunoPhage™ phage-based platform. The platform uses genetically engineered bacteriophage to generate robust immune responses to tumor antigens and block immunosuppressive pathways, and is designed for rapid, inexpensive, and scalable manufacturing. Sensei is expanding its pre-manufactured, GMP-grade Phortress™ library to enable a personalized yet off‑the‑shelf cocktail approach that can be customized for patients quickly. Its lead candidate, SNS-301, is in a Phase 1/2 trial in combination with pembrolizumab for advanced SCCHN, with promising interim results reported and topline readout expected by the end of 2021. The company is also advancing preclinical programs SNS-401 (Merkel cell carcinoma ImmunoPhage cocktail) and SNS‑VISTA (anti‑VISTA antibody). Sensei is using newly raised capital to advance its clinical pipeline and broaden development of its ImmunoPhage platform.