March Biosciences, a Houston, TX-based clinical stage biotechnology company, raised $4.8M from Cancer Focus Fund.
Cancer Focus Fund, LP, is an investment fund established in collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson).
Led by CEO Sarah Hein, March Biosciences is dedicated to addressing challenging cancers unresponsive to current immunotherapies. Its lead asset, MB-105, is a chimeric antigen receptor-T cell (“CAR-T”) therapy targeting CD5, a protein that is widely expressed in both normal and malignant T-cells, including T-cell associated leukemias and lymphomas. This has limited its use as a target for cancer therapies, since healthy T-cells needed for normal immune system functioning would be destroyed along with the malignant T-cells. MB-105 has been specially engineered to preserve healthy T-cells while maintaining its potency against CD5 positive tumor cells.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its upcoming Phase 2 clinical trial of MB-105 for the treatment of relapsed T-cell leukemias and lymphomas.
In an ongoing Phase 1 trial conducted by the Baylor College of Medicine Cell and Gene Therapy Center, MB-105 has demonstrated a favorable safety profile and encouraging early efficacy results in both relapsed T-cell lymphoma and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients.
The Phase 2, open label, multi-center trial will assess MB-105 in patients with CD5-positive relapsed/refractory T-cell lymphoma. Patients will receive one dose of MB-105 and will be followed for a minimum of 12 months.
FinSMEs
09/11/2023