The cell therapy company Kyverna Therapeutics (Emeryville, California) has closed an oversubscribed $85 million Series B funding round led by Northpond Ventures.
The company plans to use the funding to launch a Phase 2 trial for its lead asset, KYV-101, in the first half of 2022.
KYV-101 is an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) construct with potential applications in B cell-driven autoimmune diseases, including lupus nephritis, systemic sclerosis and inflammatory myopathies.
Kyverna secured rights to KYV-101 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for autologous and allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies.
Kyverna will also use the most recent funding to further the development of KYV-201, an investigational candidate that integrates its CD19 CAR T construct with Intellia’s (NSDQ:NTLA) ex vivoCRISPR/Cas9-based allogeneic platform.
The company also intends to use its recent funding to bolster its development activiti…