Verismo Therapeutics Announces $7 Million Pre-Series A with BRV Capital Management as Lead Investor

Lead investor BRV Capital Management is joined by Ignite Innovation

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Verismo Therapeutics, a clinical-stage CAR T company, Penn spinout, and pioneer of the novel KIR-CAR platform technology, today announced a $7M pre-Series A financing round. The financing will support continued advancement of the clinical trial for SynKIR-110™, a first-in-class KIR-CAR T cell immunotherapy candidate for solid tumors, and pre-clinical development of SynKIR-310, a KIR-CAR T cell immunotherapy therapeutic for blood cancer.

The funding round was led by BRV Capital Management (BRV Capital), a renowned institutional investment firm known for investing in blue chip biopharmaceutical companies such as Arvelle Therapeutics BV and ST Pharmaceutical. Verismo will be BRV Capital's newest early-stage investment in the life science space. Lead investor BRV Capital was joined by Ignite Innovation. With this $7M investment Verismo will have secured a total of $33M in financing since launching in 2020.

"We are excited to reach this milestone which will allow us to advance our current clinical trial, STAR-101, and to progress additional pipelines to clinic," said Dr. Bryan Kim, Verismo's chief executive officer. "We are thrilled to be partnered with world-class investors BRV Capital and Ignite. With their support we will be able to make a difference in the lives of patients with cancer. I look forward to working with BRV Capital and Ignite as our partners for our Series A round later this year."

Verismo's novel KIR-CAR platform is a dual-chain CAR T cell therapy that has been designed to maintain activity in challenging solid tumor environments.

"The transformative impact of CAR T cell therapy we have seen in blood cancers has been slow to come to solid tumors. We are thrilled to partner with the Verismo team to advance their KIR-CAR products and make a difference in the lives of patients with solid tumors," stated Kwan Yoon, CIO of BRV Capital.

The KIR-CAR platform is a dual-chain CAR T cell therapy and has been shown in preclinical animal models to be capable of maintaining antitumor T cell activity even in challenging solid tumor environments. DAP12 acting as a novel costimulatory molecule for T cells, aids additional T cell stimulating pathways, further sustaining chimeric receptor expression and improving KIR-CAR T cell persistence. This continued T cell function and persistence can lead to ongoing regression of solid tumors in preclinical models, including those refractory to traditional CAR T cell therapies. Furthermore, the KIR-CAR platform can be combined with many additional emerging technologies, such as in vivo gene engineering, advanced cell manufacturing and reprogramming, combinational therapies, and even allogeneic cellular therapies to provide the next-generation multimodal targeted immunotherapy for patients in need.

Verismo Therapeutics is a pioneer in dual-chain KIR-CAR technology, on track to bring its first asset into first-in-human clinical trials in 2023. Verismo is the only company developing the KIR-CAR platform, a modified NK-like receptor designed to improve persistence and efficacy against aggressive solid tumors. The KIR-CAR platform technology was developed specifically for advanced solid tumors, an area of high unmet medical need. For more information, visit: www.verismotherapeutics.com 

BRV Capital Management (BRV Capital) is a tech-focused growth equity arm of BlueRun Ventures, with highly localized presence in Asia. BRV Capital helps to create unique long-term growth by backing category winners in their respective industries and maximizing their potential through leveraging over 20 years of deep industry insight and global expertise in applying technological innovations. 

Founded in 1998, BlueRun Ventures has identified and led a number of iconic technology investments as the first institutional investor, including PayPal (PYPL), Waze (GOOG), Coupa (COUP), Kabbage (AMEX), Topsy (AAPL), and Chomp (AAPL). BRV Capital in parallel focuses on technology-powered growth opportunities in Asia, and its current select investments include EcoPro Materials (leading manufacturer of hi-nickel precursors for cathode), LINE MAN Wongnai (top O2O platform in Thailand), and Green Labs (leading agricultural technology company pioneering digitalization of the entire agriculture value chain). BRV Capital closed its third Asia-focused fund in late 2021 and will continue to focus on cross-border value creation for its overseas investments. 

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SOURCE Verismo Therapeutics