NEW YORK – Affini-T Therapeutics said on Tuesday that it has raised $175 million in an oversubscribed financing round led by Vida Ventures and Leaps by Bayer.
Other investors in the round included Humboldt Fund, The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Catalio Capital Management, Agent Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, Erasca Ventures, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and other life science investors.
Boston-based Affini-T will use the funding to advance its T-cell receptor (TCR) platform discovery engine, advance its pipeline programs into the clinic, and pursue complementary technology licenses to bolster its cell therapy platform.
The company's pipeline includes cell therapies targeting solid tumor drivers such as KRAS and p53. Its lead candidate targeting KRAS G12V is in investigational new drug application-enabling studies. Its candidates targeting KRAS G12D and mutant p53 are in the discovery stage.
"By targeting oncogenic drivers like mutated KRAS, we strike at the core genetic mutations that enable tumors to grow and spread," Affini-T CEO Jak Knowles said in a statement. "Our differentiated platform combines highly active TCRs with unique synthetic biology, allowing us to pioneer novel therapeutic approaches intended to eradicate solid tumors."
Affini-T launched out of Fred Hutch, where its cofounders developed a TCR discovery engine and a group of synthetic biology components.