March Biosciences, an emerging clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on combating challenging cancers and other diseases, announced the closing of a $28.4 million Series A funding round. Mission BioCapital and 4BIO Capital led the funding, with participation from KdT Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Volnay Therapeutics, Modi Ventures, and Mansueto Investments. Existing investors TMC Venture Fund, Cancer Focus Fund, Small Ventures, and Portal Innovations also participated in the round. And March Bio has raised over $51 million to date inclusive of all dilutive and non-dilutive funding.
Since its founding as a spinout of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital), March Bio has rapidly advanced its innovative autologous chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, MB-105, in development for the treatment of relapsed and refractory CD5 positive T-cell lymphoma. And MB-105 is specifically engineered to overcome major hurdles related to T-cell targeting by overcoming T-cell fratricide while maintaining high potency against CD5 positive tumor cells. MB-105 has demonstrated a favorable safety profile and durable remissions in relapsed T-cell lymphoma patients in a Phase 1 clinical trial at Baylor College of Medicine, with plans to begin a Phase 2 clinical trial in early 2025. The proceeds from the funding will support the Phase 2 clinical development of MB-105 to expand on this data with optimized manufacturing processes.
The new funding coincides with an announcement that the company has partnered with Volnay Therapeutics, a cell therapy venture studio led by a team of highly experienced cell therapy development veterans. March Biosciences will work with Volnay for technical oversight to develop a robust and scalable manufacturing process for MB-105 through clinical development and potential commercialization, a critical component of a successful autologous cell therapy program. And concurrent with the partnership announcement, Volnay Co-Founder and CEO Stefan Wildt, who held key R&D leadership positions in cell and gene therapy units at Novartis and Takeda, is joining March Bio’s Board of Directors.
Cassidy Blundell of Mission BioCapital and Owen Smith of 4BIO Capital are also joining March Bio’s Board of Directors. The funding will also provide resources for the ongoing development of undisclosed pipeline products, as well as for general corporate proceeds.
KEY QUOTES:
“This oversubscribed financing enables us to advance our first-in-class CAR-T therapy, MB-105, into a Phase 2 trial for T-cell lymphoma – an indication with an exceptionally poor prognosis and few treatment options. With the support and confidence of our investors, we are not only advancing our lead program but also expanding our pipeline, underscoring our commitment to delivering best-in-class therapies to patients that can change the treatment paradigm for these challenging cancers.”
– Sarah Hein, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of March Biosciences
“For far too long, T-cell cancers have been an innovation desert with patients facing a dismal prognosis. March Bio’s innovative autologous CAR-T approach brings patients new hope. MB-105 is specifically engineered for relapsed and refractory CD5 positive T-cell lymphomas and I am delighted that this targeted approach combined with the incredible team led by Sarah is moving rapidly into Phase 2 to bring this exciting new treatment to patients. We are honored to be a co-lead investor in March Bio and to help support the company as it continues in its mission to bring transformative therapies to those in urgent need.”
– Owen Smith, Partner at 4BIO Capital
“The team at March Biosciences is leveraging powerful science and promising clinical data to tackle cancers with significant unmet need. We’re excited to support their journey and believe their focused approach with MB-105 could lead to significant breakthroughs in the CAR-T space.”
– Cassidy Blundell, Partner at Mission BioCapital
