Biotech venture creation studio RBL has launched Sentinel BioTherapeutics, a spin-out from Rice University, at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting.  

This is RBL’s first company spin-out since its formation in October 2024 and positions Sentinel to begin preparations ahead of the next phase of clinical development for its lead cancer immunotherapy programme.  

Developed in the laboratory of Omid Veiseh at Rice, Sentinel’s platform enables sustained and local delivery of the cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2) to activate the immune system and enhance the potency and effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitors against solid tumours.  

The allogeneic encapsulated cell-based system enables constitutive expression of human IL-2.  

This approach can offer a new paradigm for treating cancers that typically respond poorly to checkpoint inhibitors, such as ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. 

“We believe this is a powerful, new approach that can increase the sensitivity of solid tumours to immunotherapy” said Rima Chakrabarti, CEO, Sentinel BioTherapeutics, and Managing Partner at RBL. “Data from a Phase I study show the significant potential of our IL-2-producing cell-based platform to specifically stimulate immune checkpoint expression, supporting the rationale for using our agent in combination with immunotherapy.  

“With the backing of RBL, we are moving forward with GMP manufacturing and clinical trial preparation plans in high unmet need solid tumour indications. We are proud to be part of the growing Houston biotech ecosystem that is supported by the Rice Biotech Launch Pad and RBL.” 

Sentinel’s Phase I data will be presented in a poster at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago. The presentation will highlight clinical biomarker data showing the ability of the company’s IL-2 immune priming therapy to induce dose-dependent increases in CTLA-4 expression on both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, supporting its use as a priming agent for effective checkpoint inhibition.

Diana Spencer, Senior Digital Content Editor, DDW