US-based cell therapy developer Kyverna Therapeutics secured $25m in a series A round yesterday from backers including biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences.
Life sciences-focused venture capital firms Vida Ventures and Westlake Village Biopartners also joined the round. The latter two were identified as Kyverna’s founding investors, though further details were not revealed.
Founded in 2018, Kyverna develops cell therapies to treat autoimmune diseases. The cash will support Kyverna’s efforts to advance T-cell therapies from its T-cell engineering and synthetic biology platform through proof-of-concept studies.
Gilead has established a strategic partnership with Kyverna as part of the deal, appointing Peter Emtage, senior vice-president and global head of research for immuno-oncology subsidiary Kite, to join the startup’s board of directors.
Dominic Borie, chief executive of Kyverna, said: “This may be one of the most exciting times in our industry where a new modality has the potential to become the backbone of treatment for a variety of severe immune-related diseases.
“This opportunity perfectly unites my experience as a surgeon, academic and drug developer with my passion for finding cures for autoimmune diseases. I am proud to serve as Kyverna’s CEO and be a part of this team.”