The U.S. biotech company Umoja Biopharma announced this week that it has raised $100 million in a Series C financing round co-led by Double Point Ventures and DCVC Bio, and supported by other new and existing investors. The proceeds will support the clinical development of Umoja’s in vivo CAR-T cell therapies –including its lead program UB-VV400 –for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The company’s off-the-shelf in vivo CAR-T cell therapies are developed with the help of its proprietary VivoVec gene delivery technology, a lentiviral vector technology that enables the patient’s body to produce its own CAR-T cells to fight cancer.
Umoja’s technology addresses several limitations associated with current CAR-T therapies, including adverse events, time-intensive development processes, and a high risk of infections for patients, due to the need for lymphodepletion before the treatment can take place.
Commenting on the fundraising, Andrew Sharenberg, Co-founder and CEO of Umoja, said in a press statement: “We are pleased to announce the closing of our Series C financing with tremendous support from both new and existing investors who recognize Umoja’s potential to develop the industry’s first in vivo CAR T cell generating therapies—all in the hopes of increasing effectiveness, reducing barriers, and expanding access to CAR T cell therapies.”
Scott Myers, Chairman of Umoja’s Board of Directors, added: “This Series C fundraise demonstrates both the progress and significant potential of Umoja’s in vivo oncology programs including UB-VV400 and UB-VV111. Generating CAR-T cells directly in vivo is the future of immunotherapy treatment, bringing the hope and promise of CAR-T cell therapies to more patients without the burdens of long delays, supply chain constraints, and the toxicities associated with lymphodepleting chemotherapy.”
UB-VV400 is an off-the-shelf lentiviral vector designed to generate CAR-T cells within the patient’s body that target CD22, a common target for B cell-implicated cancers and autoimmune diseases. UB-VV111, on the other hand, produces CD19-targeting CAR-T cells against blood cancers. It is currently being developed in collaboration with AbbVie. Both UB-VV400 and UB-VV111 are on the brink of entering the clinic.
