In October 2024, AvanCell announced that it raised $112 million in Series B financing, which was led by global life sciences investor Novo Holdings. It will be used to 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 treat a wide range of hematologic malignancies compared to conventional cell therapies. Clinical assets utilizing AvenCell’s universal platform include AVC-101, a highly-differentiated autologous CAR-T cell candidate, and AVC-201, a CRISPR-engineered allogeneic CAR-T cell candidate. Both products target the antigen CD123 found on most Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) cells. 

AvenCell is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts with additional R&D and manufacturing operations in Dresden, Germany.