Aleta Biotherapeutics develops CAR T Engagers (CTEs) that enhance the expression of target antigens on cancer cells, improving the efficacy of CAR T cell therapies against B cell malignancies. Their lead product, ALETA-001, aims to increase the percentage of patients achieving complete remission after CD19-targeting CAR T therapy from 45% to over 60%, addressing the high relapse rates in lymphoma and myeloma patients.
Funding
$13.7M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
CAR T-cell therapies for B-cell malignancies often face challenges with antigen expression variability and loss, leading to relapse in a significant percentage of patients. Current CAR T-cell therapies may not effectively target all tumor cells due to insufficient antigen density or the emergence of antigen-negative cancer cells.
Solution
Aleta Biotherapeutics develops CAR T Engagers (CTEs) designed to enhance the efficacy of CAR T-cell therapies by increasing target antigen density on cancer cells and preventing antigen escape. These CTEs are biologics that bind to cancer cells, improving the ability of CAR T-cells to recognize and eliminate tumor cells. Aleta's lead product, ALETA-001, is in Phase I/II clinical trials for patients with B-cell lymphoma who have received prior CD19-targeting CAR T-cell therapy. ALETA-001 contains the CD19 target protein recognized by anti-CD19 CAR T-cells and is linked to an anti-CD20 antibody domain. This approach aims to improve the percentage of patients achieving complete remission and maintaining eradication of their cancer.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes hematologists, oncologists, and clinical researchers focused on improving outcomes for patients with B-cell malignancies and acute myeloid leukemia undergoing CAR T-cell therapy.
Features
- ALETA-001: A CTE in Phase I/II clinical trials designed to improve the effectiveness of anti-CD19 CAR T-therapies by increasing CD19 antigen density and restoring lost CD19 expression.
- ALETA-001 binds with high affinity to the CD20 cancer antigen to display CD19 protein, attracting circulating CD19 CAR T-cells.
- ALETA-004: A preclinical, multi-antigen binding CTE designed to extend the cancer-killing activity of CD19 CAR T-cells to treat patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
- ALETA-004 binds two AML antigens and links them to CD19 CAR T-cells using the CD19 target protein.
- ALETA-005: A discovery-stage CTE containing the BCMA target protein linked to multiple myeloma antigen-binding domains, designed to be given alongside BCMA CAR T-therapy for advanced multiple myeloma.
- ALETA-002 and ALETA-003: CTEs designed to treat solid tumor cancers by directing CD19-protein based CTEs to solid cancer cell antigens, connecting non-B cell cancers to CD19 CAR T-cells.