USA – Immusoft of CA, a San Francisco, CA-based wholly owned subsidiary of Immusoft Corporation, a clinical-stage cell therapy company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with rare or genetic diseases, raised $8M in funding from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
The company intends to use the funds to advance its engineered B cell clinical program. This funding will support a Phase I study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ISP-001 (for delivery of alpha-L-iduronidase, or IDUA) in MPS I a rare, childhood genetic disease.Led by Sean Ainsworth, Chief Executive Officer, and Robert Hayes, Chief Scientific Officer, Immusoft is advancing ISP-001, which is a novel platform that uses a cell therapy to deliver a gene-encoded medicine. The platform leverages the B cell’s natural ability to produce high levels of antibody proteins. It is an engineered B cell therapy to enter into human clinical trials. With ISP-001, patient’s B cells are programmed to constantly produce therapeutic proteins, potentially mitigating the need for frequent infusions while potentially improving patient outcomes.The company has received FDA Orphan Drug Designation and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for ISP-001 in MPS I (Mucopolysaccharidosis type I). In addition to the support for its MPS I clinical trial, in November 2021, Immusoft received a $4M CIRM grant to support the development of its ISP-002 (for delivery of iduronate sulfatase) program for MPS II. Immusoft has also entered into a research collaboration and license option agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited aimed at delivering protein therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier to treat neurometabolic disorders.28/01/2023
