San Francisco, CA / Berlin, 2 August 2021 - T-knife Therapeutics, Inc., a next-generation T-cell receptor company developing innovative therapeutics for solid tumor patients, today announced the successful completion of a $110 million Series B financing. The financing was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, LLC., with participation from other new investors including, Life Science Partners, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Casdin Capital, Sixty Degree Capital, and CaaS Capital, along with existing investors RA Capital Management, Versant Ventures and Andera Partners.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to expand T-knife’s world-class scientific team, increase manufacturing capacity, and advance its pipeline of innovative and differentiated T cell receptor therapies (TCR-T) cell therapies.
T-knife is leveraging its proprietary HuTCR transgenic mouse platform to discover and develop a portfolio of innovative TCR-T cell therapy programs to treat patients with solid tumor cancers. T-knife’s lead program, TK-8001, is a novel TCR-T product candidate targeting MAGE-A1 positive solid tumors. T-knife plans to begin enrolling patients in the TK-8001 IMAGE1NE Phase 1/2 clinical study in the fourth quarter of 2021 and is planning to file INDs / CTAs for additional product candidates in 2022.
The foundations for the technology were laid during decades of research by T-knife’s cofounder, Prof. Thomas Blankenstein, and his team at the MDC supported by Charité. Ascenion and the technology transfer team at the MDC have worked closely with Prof. Blankenstein over many years, securing patent protection for the invention, accompanying its development, and preparing and supporting the foundation of T-knife.
‘The team has established the first system to enable the in vivo development of human TCRs against cancer-associated antigens. This is a unique selling point and a potentially important breakthrough in the rapidly expanding field of adoptive T-cell therapy,’ says Dr Christian Stein, CEO of Ascenion. ‘We are delighted that the financial basis has been secured to exploit these excellent research results for the tangible benefit of patients.’
Prof. Thomas Blankenstein adds: ‘The TCRs produced have several advantages over those generated by conventional methods. This will open up new opportunities for many cancer patients, should our existing data be confirmed in clinical trials. We thank all our partners who have accompanied us on our journey, and supported us through all the highs and lows over many years.’
Ascenion holds shares in T-knife and an observer seat on the Board. The majority of proceeds from subsequent sale of shares will be distributed to the LifeScience Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research to support further translational projects, in particular at the MDC and the Charité.
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About T-knife
T-knife is a next-generation T-cell receptor (TCR) company developing a pipeline of therapeutics for solid tumor patients. The company leverages its proprietary humanized T-cell receptor (HuTCR) mouse platform to produce fully human TCRs, naturally selected in-vivo for optimal affinity and specificity.
T-knife is developing a pipeline of potential first / best-in-class TCR therapeutics against targets with high unmet medical need, including cancer testis antigens, viral antigens and commonly shared neoantigens. T-knife was founded by leading T-cell and immunology experts using technology developed at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine together with Charité University Hospital in Berlin.
Further information: www.t-knife.com
About Ascenion GmbH
Ascenion is an independent technology transfer company focussing on the life sciences. It is partner to 30 research organizations, universities and university hospitals in Germany and Europe, including life-science institutes of the Helmholtz and Leibniz Associations, the Charité, the Hannover Medical School, the Medical University of Innsbruck and the University Medical Center Göttingen. Ascenion’s multidisciplinary, industry-experienced team works closely with its partners to tap the potential of their research by identifying promising results, obtaining patent protection, and turning pure science into applied technology. Particular strengths are spin-off support and project development, where early-stage projects are transformed into assets that attract potential investors and licensees. This has led to the founding of numerous new companies and the transfer of innovative medical approaches into approved drugs, changing the lives of thousands of patients. Profits from Ascenion’s operative business and exit proceeds flow via its parent company, the LifeScience Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research, to fund further translational research at its partner institutes.
Further information: www.ascenion.de
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Contacts
Camille Landis, CBO/CFO, T-knife Therapeutics, Inc.
info@t-knife.com
Stanislava Zollner, Corporate Communication, Ascenion GmbH
zollner(at)ascenion(dot)de, +49 89 3188140