Arcellx Raises $115 Million to Advance Pipeline of Adaptive and Controllable Cell Therapies

Rare Daily Staff

Arcellx said it raised $115 million in a series C financing to advance its pipeline of adaptive and controllable cell therapies targeting rare cancers.

Samsara BioCapital and CAM Capital led the financing, which included new investors Adage, Asymmetry, CaaS Capital, Cambrian Bio, Sixty Degree, Soleus Capital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Suvretta, and Terra Magnum Capital Partners, and existing investors NEA, Novo Holdings, SR One, Takeda Ventures, LG Tech, and Clough Capital.

The proceeds will support the company’s development of CART-ddBCMA, a BCMA-specific CAR-modified T-cell therapy currently in phase 1 that the company anticipates moving into a pivotal trial in 2022. In addition, the funding will support initiation of clinical trials evaluating ACLX-001 and ACLX-002, cell therapies derived from Arcellx’s controllable ARC-SparX platform, in the rare cancer multiple myeloma and acute myelogenous leukemia, respectively.

“Our platform of both single infusion and controllable CAR-Ts based on our novel synthetic binding domain is built to address the limitations of cell therapy with the opportunity to improve efficacy, reduce toxicity, and shorten the time to intervention while expanding into new indications,” said Rami Elghandour, chairman and CEO of Arcellx. “This financing positions us to advance to a registrational study in multiple myeloma and to initiate a phase 1 study in AML in 2022 as well as progress our solid tumor targets toward the clinic.”

In an initial release of clinical results at the 2020 American Society of Hematology meeting, the CART-ddBCMA data showed all six multiple myeloma patients responded per IMWG criteria, with four of those patients achieving stringent complete response. The therapy was also well-tolerated, and CAR-T related toxicities resolved rapidly.

“Based on the early clinical data, we believe that CART-ddBCMA represents a potential best-in class therapy for multiple myeloma and with the support of this financing will be positioned to move into pivotal trials next year,” said Mike Dybbs, partner at Samsara BioCapital. “We’re also excited about the opportunity for CART-ddBCMA to move into earlier lines of treatment for multiple myeloma based on the safety profile in this early data set. In addition, the ARC-SparX platform will be the first adaptive and controllable CAR-T system to enter the clinic and provides a unique approach to building next generation cell therapies.”

Photo: Rami Elghandour, chairman and CEO of Arcellx