UK biotech company Cytospire Therapeutics has closed a £61 million ($83 million) Series A financing round to advance T cell engagers, 4BIO Capital has announced. 

The venture capital firm led the financing round, with proceeds allowing Cytospire to advance its pipeline of first-in-class pan-gamma delta T cell engagers. The company’s lead programme, CYT X300, is currently being advanced through IND-enabling preclinical studies and GMP manufacturing. 

CYT X300 will also be evaluated in a first-in-human studying as a treatment for EGFR-positive solid tumours, such as colorectal, head and neck and non-small cell lung cancers. 

Cytospire claims its pan-gamma delta T cell engagers are uniquely engineered to target all gamma delta T cells rather than specific subtypes. Through this approach, the company aims to overcome patient heterogeneity and generate broader, more effective anti‑tumour immune responses, through the activation of both tissue/tumour resident and blood resident effector cells. 

“Immune cell engagers are an important type of cancer immunotherapy, but we know that there are significant limitations from both an efficacy and safety perspective with conventional CD3 T cell engagers,” said Natalie Mount, Chief Executive Officer of Cytospire Therapeutics. 

“We are building on the growing body of translational and clinical data showing gamma delta T cells are critical components of the anti-cancer immune response, with biology ideally suited to novel cell engagers.  

“The significant fundraise that we are announcing today [5 May] reflects the quality of our team and our science, and the huge potential of our pan-gamma delta T cell engagers.”