Verismo Therapeutics is set to accelerate the clinical development of its novel KIR-CAR platform following a strategic merger with HLB Innovation and a partnership with the Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation (IFLI). These moves aim to bolster Verismo's resources and expertise in developing cell therapies for solid tumors and blood cancers.
The merger, completed in December 2024, makes Verismo Therapeutics a wholly-owned subsidiary of HLB Innovation (KOSDAQ: 024850), a South Korean publicly traded company within the HLB Group. This consolidation is expected to provide Verismo with enhanced financial backing and access to HLB Group's bio-ecosystem, facilitating the advancement of its clinical pipelines, particularly SynKIR™-110 and SynKIR™-310.
IFLI Partnership to Expedite Follicular Lymphoma Treatment
In a separate announcement on January 7, 2025, Verismo revealed a strategic investment from IFLI, a non-profit foundation focused on advancing treatment options for follicular lymphoma (FL). IFLI will invest up to $4.05 million over three years to support the clinical development of SynKIR™-310, Verismo's lead candidate for FL and other non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes.
Bryan Kim, CEO of Verismo Therapeutics, stated, "This funding will enable us to expedite the clinical development of our SynKIR™-310 program, which is currently in Phase 1 clinical trial. IFLI's support will enable us to bring our novel therapies to FL patients more quickly and efficiently."
The investment will support a multicenter, open-label Phase 1 study (NCT06544265) evaluating a single infusion of SynKIR™-310 in participants with relapsed/refractory B-NHL, including FL. The trial, designed as a basket study, includes two dose levels and an expansion cohort at the Recommended Phase 2 Dose (RP2D), with a total enrollment of up to 18 patients. IFLI's funding will facilitate the expansion of FL-focused clinical sites to enhance patient enrollment.
KIR-CAR Platform Technology
Verismo's KIR-CAR platform is a multi-chain CAR T cell therapy designed to maintain anti-tumor T cell activity even in challenging tumor microenvironments. The platform utilizes NK cell-derived KIR and DAP12 split signaling, providing a novel combined activation and co-stimulation pathway separate from traditional T cell stimulation. This approach enables sustained chimeric receptor expression and improves KIR-CAR T cell long-term function, leading to prolonged T cell functional persistence and regression of solid tumors in preclinical models resistant to traditional CAR T cell therapies.
Michel Azoulay, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer of IFLI, commented, "We expect that positive Phase 1 safety and preliminary efficacy data will support accelerated clinical development in FL for patients not responding to first line immunotherapy as well as exploration in additional NHL."
