Kure Cells Secures $10M to Revolutionize CAR-T Manufacturing with Same-Day Platform
核心洞察
Wa'ed Ventures (搜索) led a $10 million Pre-Series A funding round in Kure Cells (搜索), a US biotechnology company developing rapid CAR-T (搜索) manufacturing platforms.
The company's Ultra-Fast CAR platform reduces T-cell engineering time from weeks to less than 24 hours while maintaining cell health and function.
Lead candidate UF-KURE19 achieved an 88% complete response rate in patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (搜索).
Wa'ed Ventures (搜索), the Saudi Aramco-backed $500 million venture capital fund, has led a $10 million Pre-Series A funding round in Kure Cells (搜索), a US-based biotechnology company pioneering rapid-manufacturing platforms for CAR-T (搜索) and gene-modified cell therapies. The investment addresses one of the industry's most significant challenges: the speed, scalability, and cost of manufacturing cellular therapies.
Revolutionary Manufacturing Platform
Founded by Dr. David Wald and Dr. Sayer Alfuraydi, Kure Cells (搜索) has developed the proprietary Ultra-Fast CAR (UF-CAR) platform that enables same-day engineering of patient T-cells (搜索) to fight cancer (搜索). The technology compresses the traditional multi-week CAR-T (搜索) manufacturing process into less than 24 hours while preserving T-cell health and function, resulting in improved durability and a safer clinical profile.
The automated closed-system process is readily scalable and can reduce manufacturing costs to a fraction of conventional CAR-T (搜索) production costs. This breakthrough addresses a critical bottleneck in the cell and gene therapy market, which is projected to reach over $100 billion by 2030, driven by breakthroughs in oncology and regenerative medicine, according to Coherent Market Insights.
Clinical Success with Lead Candidate
Kure's lead candidate, UF-KURE19, has demonstrated remarkable clinical efficacy with an 88% complete response rate and a lower rate of side effects in patients with relapsed or unresponsive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (搜索) cases. This performance represents a significant advancement in treating this form of blood cancer (搜索), particularly for patients who have not responded to conventional therapies.
Building on this success, Kure Cells (搜索) is partnering globally with biotechnology companies to integrate its platform into next-generation therapies across oncology and immune-mediated diseases.
Strategic Expansion into Saudi Arabia
The funding round, which also included participation from Qomel (搜索), NantBio (搜索), and US93, will accelerate Kure's localization efforts in Saudi Arabia. The company plans to establish R&D and manufacturing facilities dedicated to advanced cell therapy development and will collaborate closely with Saudi researchers and clinicians to adapt its proprietary platform to local regulatory and clinical environments.
This initiative aligns with the Ministry of Investment (MISA) and the Research, Development and Innovation Authority's (RDIA) strategic vision to anchor global biotech innovation in the Kingdom by localizing high-value research, piloting clinical applications, and nurturing a new generation of Saudi scientists in cell and gene therapy.
"Partnering with Kure Cells (搜索) is a crucial step in localizing cutting-edge biotech companies in the Kingdom," said Anas Algahtani, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Wa'ed Ventures (搜索). "Their rapid cell therapy manufacturing platform compresses timelines, lowers costs, and broadens patient access while actively building Saudi's biotech ecosystem through local R&D, talent development, and clinical translation."
Global Accessibility Vision
Dr. David Wald, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kure Cells (搜索), emphasized the global implications of the partnership: "This partnership marks a major step toward making truly next-generation CAR-T (搜索) therapies accessible on a global scale. Our ultra-fast platform is designed not only to deliver more durable and safer outcomes for patients, but also to enable rapid, in-country manufacturing at a fraction of current costs."
The company's vision extends beyond Saudi Arabia, aiming to bring transformative cellular therapy capabilities to areas of the world with limited accessibility to cell therapy products. By enabling local manufacturing, the UF-CAR platform could significantly reduce treatment costs and improve patient access to life-saving CAR-T (搜索) therapies globally.