RTW backs Artiva Biotherapeutics – RTW Venture Fund notes the announcement by Artiva Biotherapeutics of its completion of a $120m Series B financing round. RTW Venture Fund, alongside other of the investment manager’s vehicles, confirms that it participated in the financing round together with other investment firms.
Roderick Wong, MD, managing partner and chief investment officer at the investment manager, said: “Our investment team is excited about Artiva’s differentiated approach to develop off-the-shelf allogenic NK cell therapies, coupled with its manufacturing capabilities. We look forward to supporting Artiva’s team to bring these potentially transformative therapies to cancer patients. The addition of Artiva to the portfolio further expands our focus on oncology and investing in innovative therapeutic modalities.”
Artiva Biotherapeutics
Artiva’s mission is to deliver to cancer patients highly effective cellular immunotherapies that are safe and immediately accessible. Artiva’s pipeline includes AB-101, an ADCC enhancer NK-cell therapy for use in combination with monoclonal antibodies or innate-cell engagers. The company is currently advancing a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AB-101 in combination with rituximab for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphomas. The company’s CAR-NK programs include AB-201, a novel HER2-specific CAR-NK cell therapy for the treatment of HER2+ solid tumors, and AB-202, a CD19-specific CAR-NK cell therapy for the treatment of B-cell malignancies, which are being developed under Artiva’s master license and option agreement with GC LabCell Corporation, with plans to enter clinical trials in 2022. The company has entered into therapeutic NK cell collaborations and/or license agreements with Merck and with Affimed N.V. Artiva’s NK cell platform incorporates cell expansion, activation, and engineering technology developed by the company’s corporate partner, GC LabCell, a member of the GC family of companies, one of the Republic of Korea’s leading biopharmaceutical groups. Artiva is headquartered in San Diego. For additional information about Artiva Biotherapeutics, please visit www.artivabio.com.