Shinobi Therapeutics Co., Ltd.
Shinobi Therapeutics completes $51 million Series A to develop low-immunogenic iPS cell-derived T cell therapy platform
Technology introduced from Kyoto University and University of California, San Francisco to accelerate clinical development of off-the-shelf iPS-T cell therapy for GPC3-expressing cancers ……
Led by EQT Life Sciences, Eight Roads Ventures Japan, F-Prime Capital, with participation from Astellas Venture Management, Fast Track Initiative (FTI), JIC Venture Growth Investments, and D3 LLC Dr. Carl June, a pioneer in CAR-T cell therapy, becomes scientific advisor Shinobi Therapeutics (Shinobi, headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, Japan subsidiary in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture) has completed a $51 million Series A financing. The round was led by EQT Life Sciences, Eight Roads Ventures Japan, and F-Prime Capital, with participation from Astellas Venture Management, Fast Track Initiative, and JIC Venture Growth. Investments and D3 LLC participated. Shinobi will use this funding to develop its “Katana” iPS-T cell therapy platform and advance into the clinic the first program to treat GPC3-expressing solid tumors.
Dan Kemp, CEO of Shinobi, said, “Shinobi has been preparing to provide solutions that solve many of the key challenges facing cell therapy in recent years. Today, we have completed Series A financing. “While we have led multiple cell therapy programs at other global companies in the past, there has never been a technology platform that can advance this field as dramatically as this one.” states.
Although cell therapy has achieved remarkable results in the treatment of blood cancers and other intractable diseases, high manufacturing costs are a barrier and it has not reached many patients. On the other hand, by developing off-the-shelf cell therapy derived from allogeneic cells and making it possible to manufacture them in large quantities, manufacturing costs can be expected to be reduced. Another problem arises: Shinobi aims to overcome these key challenges of cell therapy by developing an allogeneic cell platform that can effectively evade rejection from a patient’s own various immune mechanisms.
Shinobi uses technology developed by co-founders Professor Arata Kaneko of Kyoto University’s iPS Cell Research Institute (CiRA) and Professor Tobias Deuse of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to develop the world’s most advanced immune evasion ability. The provided iPS cells are differentiated into CD8ab-positive T cells using the company’s proprietary differentiation technology (Katana platform).
“Shinobi’s Katana platform has the potential to bring CAR-T cell therapy to patients on a global scale,” said Dr. Carl June, Shinobi’s new Scientific Advisor.
“Shinobi has a unique presence in the growing cell therapy field by incorporating the most comprehensive immune evasion technology directly into its cell products,” said Robert Weisskoff, partner at F-Prime Capital. , a decade of iPS cell research pioneered by Professor Arata Kaneko and developed in Kyoto by Toyasu Michi and Ryosuke Gonotsubo, along with Eight Roads colleagues and Donald Payan, and a breakthrough developed by Professor Tobias Deuse in San Francisco. We envisioned the merger of Cyas and Evade in order to combine these technologies. “We were able to create an allogeneic cell platform that protects patients.”
Fouad Azzam, partner at EQT Life Sciences, said, “Allogeneic cell therapy will not become a reality without overcoming the problem of rejection. We believe that this will go far beyond immune cell therapy and open the door to a broader pipeline of allogeneic cell
therapies.Starting with cancer, Shinobi plans to expand into other disease areas, including autoimmune diseases. “We also plan to expand into cell therapy for areas other than immune cells.”
[About Shinobi Therapeutics, Inc.]
Shinobi is a biotechnology company developing new cell therapies derived from allogeneic iPS cells with immune evasion capabilities. Based on the research of Professor Arata Kaneko of Kyoto University’s iPS Cell Research Institute and Professor Tobias Deuse of the University of California, San Francisco, we are developing a new iPS cell-derived CD8ab-positive T cell platform that can evade rejection from all immune mechanisms of patients. Masu. URL:
https://www.shinobitx.com
[About EQT Life Sciences]
EQT Life Sciences was established in 2022 by integrating LSP, a leading European life sciences and healthcare venture capital firm, into EQT’s foundation. Since we began investing as an LSP more than 30 years ago, we have raised more than €3 billion (US$3.5 billion) and helped more than 150 companies grow. With a dedicated team of investment professionals with experience in medicine, science, business and finance, EQT Life Sciences supports up-and-coming entrepreneurs with innovative ideas that make a real difference for patients. I am.
URL: https://www.eqtgroup.com
[About Eight Roads Ventures] Eight Roads Ventures is a venture capital fund that invests with funds from Fidelity, a major global asset management company. With funds in Europe, China, Japan, India, and the United States, we invest globally in innovative technologies, including the healthcare field, and in companies with high growth prospects. We continue to provide hands-on management support to our investees by making full use of our industry knowledge and global network. At Eight Roads Ventures Japan, our mission is to develop pharmaceuticals globally based on Japan’s science and technology. URL: https://eightroads.com/en/
[About F-Prime Capital] F-Prime Capital is a world-leading venture capital firm that invests in healthcare and technology, solving the biggest challenges in healthcare and medicine and making gold standard healthcare available to everyone. We conduct investment activities based on the belief that we are worthy of investment. For more than 50 years, the independent venture capital group, with a portfolio of nearly 300 companies spanning the Americas, Europe and Asia, brings together expertise in life sciences, healthcare and technology to develop therapeutics, medical technology and health products. We identify and support founders with the next big ideas in care IT and services. He has founded or co-founded over 30 companies, including Denali, Beam, and Innovent, and has helped found Blueprint Medicines, Iora Health, PatientPing, Devoted Health and Ultragenyx, and many more. F-Prime Capital is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with offices in London, UK, and San Francisco, California. For more information, visit https://www.fprimecapital.com, X
(https://twitter.com/FPrimeCapital) and LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/f-prime-capital-partners) please. [Contact information]
Shinobi Therapeutics Co., Ltd.
Tel: (075) 752-1555
Email: info@shinobitx.com
More details about this release:
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