Indapta Therapeutics – a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases – announced it has closed a $22.5 million round of new financing to accelerate the clinical development of its differentiated allogeneic Natural Killer (NK) cell therapy. Current investors RA Capital Management, LP, Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Bayer AG, Vertex Ventures HC, Pontifax, and the Myeloma Investment Fund, the venture philanthropy subsidiary of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, completed the round.
Indapta completed enrollment in the safety run-in portion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of IDP-023 in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) and Multiple Myeloma (MM), in which patients received up to three doses of IDP-023 without and with interleukin (IL)-2. And as presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer meeting, the mean maximum decrease in serum M-protein or light chain was 73% in responding myeloma patients with relapsed/refractory disease, with three patients achieving a reduction of 84% or greater. Enrollment of cohorts receiving IDP-023 in combination with monoclonal antibodies targeting CD20 or CD38 is underway.
In August, Indapta has announced FDA clearance of its IND of IDP-023 in combination with ocrelizumab in progressive MS. And the company’s approach is highly differentiated from other cellular approaches to autoimmune diseases, with at least three different mechanisms that can address the biology of the disease: 1.) By combining with a B cell targeting antibody-like ocrelizumab, IDP-023 can deplete B cells more effectively than antibody alone; 2.) g-NK cells are capable of targeting autoreactive T and B cells that are known to upregulate HLA-E; and 3.) Given their inherent anti-viral activity, g-NK cells can potentially address the EBV viral reservoir contributing to disease pathogenesis.
KEY QUOTE:
“This funding will enable us to generate significant additional data in our ongoing trial of IDP-023 in cancer as well as initial data from our first trial in autoimmune disease. Preliminary results of IDP-023 in cancer are encouraging and we look forward to initiating our Phase 1 trial for multiple sclerosis in Q1 2025. This financing, together with our recently announced collaboration with Sanofi, highlights the promise of our differentiated platform.”
– Mark Frohlich, Indapta’s CEO
