AvenCell raises $112 million in Series B financing

US clinical-stage biotech AvenCell Therapeutics announced that it has raised $112 million in Series B financing, which was led by global life sciences investor Novo Holdings.

New investors F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads Ventures Japan, Piper Heartland Healthcare Capital and NYBC Ventures also participated in the round alongside founding investor Blackstone Life Sciences. As part of this financing, Michael Bauer, partner, Venture Investments, Novo Holdings, and Nihal Sinha, partner, F-Prime Capital will join AvenCell's Board of Directors.

AvenCell is focused on advancing both autologous and allogeneic switchable CAR-T cell therapies, and says that this latest financing will support ongoing clinical validation of AvenCell's proprietary, switchable universal CAR-T cell therapy platform that generates CAR-T cells that can rapidly be turned "Off" and "On" even after they are administered to a patient. The universal platform was developed to more safely and effectively treat a wide range of hematologic malignancies compared to conventional cell therapies.