EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eureka Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel T cell therapies for solid tumors, today announced that it has closed a $45 million Series E financing. The round was led by Lyell Immunopharma and joined by a syndicate of new and prior investors. In addition to the financing, Eureka and Lyell have entered into a strategic collaboration to develop therapies against several undisclosed solid tumor targets expressed across multiple cancer types.
The Company will use proceeds from the Series E round to advance its proprietary TCR-mimic and antibody-TCR ARTEMIS® programs, including Eureka’s anti-AFP ARTEMIS® Phase I/II clinical trial in the United States for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the predominant type of liver cancer.
TCR-mimics represent a novel way to target solid tumors. Whereas the current generation of CAR-T therapies exclusively recognize cell-surface targets, most cancer-associated proteins are found intracellularly and are considered ‘undruggable’ with conventional small molecule or antibody drugs. TCR-mimic antibodies recognize the same tumor specific peptide/MHC complexes as TCRs but with better affinity and specificity.
“Eureka’s TCR-mimic and ARTEMIS® technologies are very promising. We look forward to working with them to improve the efficacy of engineered T cells in solid tumors,” said Dr. Rick Klausner, Founder and CEO of Lyell, who also co-founded Juno Therapeutics and GRAIL and served as the 11th Director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
“We are delighted by the vote of confidence from Lyell and other investors in our TCR-mimic and ARTEMIS® platforms,” said Dr. Cheng Liu, Founder and CEO of Eureka Therapeutics. “This financing and strategic collaboration with Lyell represents a strategic inflection point for Eureka and will enable us to accelerate the development of novel therapies for patients.”
ABOUT EUREKA THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Eureka Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel T cell therapies for solid tumors. Its core technology centers around its proprietary ARTEMIS® AbTCR T-cell receptor platform and E-ALPHA® antibody discovery platform for discovery and development of potentially safer and more effective T cell therapies for treatment of multiple solid and hematologic tumors. ET140202, the Company’s lead asset, is currently in a Phase I/II US multicenter clinical trial in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Eureka Therapeutics, Inc. is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information on the company, please visit www.eurekatherapeutics.com.
