A potential cure for stem cell transplants is costly to the immune system. The necessary conditioning regimen essentially wipes out the immune system, giving the transplanted cells a better chance of getting the job done. The entire process may require hospitalization for several weeks.
Tom Fuchs, CEO of biotech startup Cimeio Therapeutics, has proposed an alternative. His startup is developing technology to protect transplanted cells, thereby avoiding the need for immunosuppression. According to Fuchs, this capability could enable hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation as an outpatient procedure, potentially expanding such treatments to more patients and more diseases. He explained that hospitalization is to support patients who do not have an immune system.
“If you can fix that, you can do this for other diseases,” Fuchs said. “If you don’t have to be fully immunosuppressed, then the risk/benefit profile may be different.”
Cimeio begins to lift the veil on its technology. The company has operations in Boston and Basel, Switzerland, roll out Startup founder Ridgeline Discovery Engine this week from venture capital firm Versant Ventures. Other biotech startups owned by Versant Including Monte Rosa Therapeutics from Ridgeline and black diamond therapy. Versant is raising $50 million in Series A funding for its latest company.
The Cimeio technology comes from the lab of Lukas Jeker, professor at the University of Basel’s Department of Biomedicine and senior vice president of gene editing at the startup. Versant managing director Alex Mayweg said he learned about Jeker’s technology at a lunch meeting with Jeker about two years ago. Jeker explained that he is working on a way to edit cell-surface receptors simply by changing amino acids. This change prevents the receptor from binding to the antibody, effectively protecting it from antibody therapy or other biological drugs. Equally important, this change still preserved the function of the receptor.
Cimeio’s approach starts with understanding the biology of cells and identifying what makes a good target for shielding, Fuchs said. The company then studies antibodies that are available or can be developed to achieve that goal. Armed with this information, Cimeio created a map to see what would happen if a specific amino acid variant was inserted. From there, it’s a testing process to find changes that will prevent the receptor from binding while maintaining its function.
Fuchs, a Genentech and Roche veteran, said he joined Cimeio because of the technology’s potential. In addition to protecting HSCs during transplantation, the technique could also be used to protect adoptive cell therapy, he said. Shielded cells will be paired with immunotherapy. Immunotherapy would kill diseased cells, clearing the way for the shielded transplanted cells to be implanted in patients. Immunotherapy can be continued after transplantation. The shielding of the transplanted cells protects them from immunotherapy, which can be administered again to address any diseased cells that remain after the initial treatment.
In preclinical studies, Cimeio has protected cells from a range of therapies, including antibody drugs, T-cell engagers, antibody-drug conjugates and CAR T cells. Cimeio’s technology can be applied to both currently available immunotherapies and new ones under development, Fuchs said. Cimeio is developing new immunotherapies for targets that cannot be hit now because they are also expressed on HSCs or T cells, so targeting them could make patients sick. Each immunotherapy has a different shield. Immunotherapies already available may form the basis of new partnerships. Fuchs said he had some conversations with pharmaceutical companies about pairing Cimeio’s technology with their products.
So far, Cimeio’s research has resulted in four programs. The most advanced of these is expected to produce a therapeutic candidate by the end of the quarter, Fuchs said. From there, he estimates it will be 18 months before he reaches the clinic. A second therapeutic candidate could be selected by the end of the year. The Series A cash will support the work required to conduct investigational new drug applications for these programs. There isn’t much talk in the biotech space about the power of HSC transplantation because there isn’t as much innovation out there, Fuchs said. Cimeio technology offers the potential to bring cures to more patients.
“We’re here to shine,” Fuchs said. “We’re not trying to improve survival. We’re trying to shift the curve for some of these diseases.”
Photo: Royalty Stock Photos, Getty Images
