NEW YORK – Vittoria Biotherapeutics on Tuesday said it has raised more than $15 million in a private financing round that it will use to develop its autologous CAR T-cell therapy VIPER-101 for treating T-cell lymphoma.
Valley Forge Investment Corporation led the funding round, and Agent Capital, Tellus Bioventures, the University of Pennsylvania, BioAdvance, NYBC Ventures, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program also participated.
Vittoria developed VIPER-101 using its Senza5 platform, which is designed to maximize stemness, durability, and efficacy of CAR T-cell therapies by disabling CD5 signaling and bypassing the immunosuppressive effects of CD5. According to Vittoria, its five-day manufacturing process further enhances stemness, promoting greater in vivo expansion and durability.
Vittoria, headquartered in Philadelphia, spun out of the University of Pennsylvania with $10 million in seed funding in June 2022. The firm aims to use cell engineering and gene editing to address limitations of CAR T-cell therapy.
In addition to advancing VIPER-101, the company will also use the funds to support development of next-generation cell therapies for patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases.