Houston's March Biosciences raises $28M for CAR-T Phase 2

A dynamic startup based in Houston has successfully secured $28.4 million in a Series A funding round to advance a mid-stage clinical trial. The company, March Biosciences, is set to begin Phase 2 trials early next year for its autologous CAR-T cell therapy, aimed at treating relapsed and refractory CD5+ T cell lymphoma.

CEO Sarah Hein announced that the total financing raised by the company so far is $51 million, but this amount will not be sufficient to completely fund the upcoming Phase 2 trial. This trial is planned to take place at various sites across the United States. The therapy candidate, MB-105, previously underwent Phase 1 trials at Baylor College of Medicine, where it demonstrated an overall response rate of 44%, including two complete responses. This initial success has generated significant excitement, as relapsed and refractory T cell lymphoma is notoriously difficult to treat, with long-term survivors being very rare.

The Series A funding was led by Mission BioCapital and 4BIO Capital, with participation from several other investors, including KdT Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Modi Ventures, Mansueto Investments, TMC Venture Fund, Cancer Focus Fund, Small Ventures, and Volnay Therapeutics. Volnay Therapeutics, a stealth-stage cell therapy venture studio led by Stefan Wildt and Nebojsa Milovic, will collaborate with March Biosciences on developing manufacturing processes for MB-105, both for clinical development and potential commercialization. Wildt and Milovic have notable experience in the field, having previously contributed to the launch of Novartis' cell therapy Kymriah and the development of Takeda's cell therapy capabilities.

Currently, March Biosciences operates with a team of four employees out of Portal Innovations, a life sciences investor and lab operator. Hein did not disclose future plans for other pipeline programs, which include CD7 autologous CAR-T MB-107, allogeneic multi-CAR MB-112, and MB-301, the target of which remains undisclosed.

Hein co-founded March Biosciences in 2022 after her role in recruiting researchers for the cancer therapeutics accelerator at Texas Medical Center Innovation. Before founding March, Hein served as Vice President of Operations at Courier Therapeutics, a Houston-based cancer biotech company that was acquired by Valo Health for up to $510 million in 2021.

March Biosciences traces its origins back to chief scientific officer Maksim Mamonkin and Malcolm Brenner, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine involved in other CAR-T projects, including collaborations with Celgene and bluebird bio. Brenner also played a role in Tessa Therapeutics, a Singapore-based cell therapy company that has since ceased operations.

This latest round of funding marks a significant milestone for March Biosciences as it prepares to advance its promising CAR-T cell therapy through further clinical trials. With a strong team and strategic collaborations, the company aims to bring innovative treatments to patients with relapsed and refractory CD5+ T cell lymphoma, a challenging and often deadly form of cancer.