VERIMMUNE develops Anti-Tumor Immune Redirection (AIR) therapy to target cancer by leveraging existing immune memory. This approach redirects immune responses generated from past pathogen exposure or childhood vaccines toward malignant cells. The therapy modifies tumor cells to trigger the patient’s pre-existing viral memory CD8+ T cells, leading to tumor cell destruction.
Funding
$10M 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.
BBFounders
Product
Problem
Current cancer treatments often fail because the immune system does not recognize tumor cells as foreign, leading to ineffective immune responses and tumor survival. Existing immunotherapies struggle to generate a robust and targeted T-cell response against cancer cells, limiting their efficacy across diverse patient populations.
Solution
VerImmune is developing Anti-Tumor Immune Redirection (AIR) therapy, an innovative approach that modifies tumor cells to mimic virally infected cells. This redirection leverages pre-existing immune memory from past infections or childhood vaccines, prompting the patient's own viral-specific CD8+ T cells to target and destroy the cancer. By hijacking the body's established immune responses, AIR aims to create a more effective and targeted anti-tumor response, overcoming the limitations of current cancer immunotherapies. The therapy is designed to redirect the immune memory towards cancer cells, leading to their destruction.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes cancer patients with pre-existing immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, as well as oncologists and researchers seeking novel immunotherapeutic approaches.
Features
- Modifies tumor cells to express viral antigens, mimicking a viral infection.
- Redirects pre-existing viral-specific CD8+ T cells to target tumor cells.
- Utilizes the patient's own immune memory, reducing the risk of immune-related adverse events.
- Designed to work across a broad range of cancer types, leveraging common viral immunities.
- Patient selection strategy involves screening for pre-existing immunity from infection or childhood vaccine.