• Diakonos Oncology

  Led · Seed · Aug 2024

  Diakonos Oncology develops a proprietary double-loaded, autologous dendritic cell therapeutic platform that combines tumor lysate and amplified tumor-derived mRNA to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses. Its lead candidate, dubodencel (DOC1021), is a first-in-class, double-loaded autologous dendritic cell therapy manufactured from a patient’s dendritic cells plus mRNA and proteins from freshly obtained tumor specimens. The company is focused on late-stage and aggressive cancers and is advancing a Phase 2 glioblastoma trial for DOC1021 while planning to expand into indications such as refractory melanoma. Diakonos is led by CEO Mike Wicks, MS, and President/COO Jay Hartenbach. The company recently closed a $20M financing and received prior seed financing of $11.4M last year. Baylor College of Medicine is providing in-kind services to support pre-clinical and clinical development. Diakonos Oncology develops DOC1021, a first-of-its-kind dendritic cell vaccine that uses a proprietary double-loading technology to elicit a cytotoxic TH1 immune response without genetic modification or toxic preconditioning. The company has completed enrollment in a two-year Phase 1 trial (enrollment completed December 2023) of DOC1021 in glioblastoma and has ongoing trials in pancreatic cancer and angiosarcoma. DOC1021’s GBM and pancreatic programs have received FDA Fast Track designations, and the GBM program has Orphan Drug designation. The recent financing enabled establishment of manufacturing operations and key leadership hires and supported completion of Phase 1 enrollment. Diakonos plans to use the new capital to fund operations into late 2025, prepare for pipeline expansion, and initiate a Phase 2 GBM trial expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year prior to closing a Series A.

No current team members are available.