# AvenCell Therapeutics

> AvenCell Therapeutics is a clinical-stage cell therapy company building switchable, universal CAR-T treatments that can be turned 'off' and 'on' even after they are inside a patient. By pairing this controllable switch with a CRISPR-engineered, off-the-shelf allogeneic platform, AvenCell aims to widen the narrow safety window of conventional CAR-T while cutting the cost and wait time of manufacturing, targeting hard-to-treat blood cancers like AML, B-cell malignancies and, increasingly, autoimmune disease.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founders:** Blackstone Life Sciences (Founding Investor), Cellex Cell Professionals (Founding Technology Contributor), Intellia Therapeutics (Founding Technology Licensor (CRISPR/Cas9)), Andrew Schiermeier (Chief Executive Officer)
- **Team size:** ~64 employees
- **Products:** Switchable Universal CAR-T Platform, TruAllo / Allogeneic Off-the-Shelf Platform, AVC-101, AVC-201, AVC-203
- **Notable:** Raised $112 million Series B in October 2024 led by Novo Holdings., Integrated switchable universal CAR-T technology (from GEMoaB/Cellex) with Intellia's CRISPR allogeneic platform - described as the first to combine a switchable CAR-T with an off-the-shelf solution., Advanced three clinical candidates: AVC-101, AVC-201 and AVC-203.

## Products & services

- **Switchable Universal CAR-T Platform** — A T-cell engineering approach where the CAR-T cell is paired with a separate 'targeting module.' Because the cell and its aiming mechanism are decoupled, the therapy can be switched off and on even after infusion, and re-aimed at different antigens without re-engineering the cell.
- **TruAllo / Allogeneic Off-the-Shelf Platform** — A CRISPR/Cas9-based allogeneic platform (licensed from Intellia) that allows CAR-T cells to be manufactured in advance from healthy donor cells, reducing cost and cycle time compared to patient-specific autologous manufacturing.
- **AVC-101** — Autologous switchable CAR-T cell candidate targeting CD123 for relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
- **AVC-201** — CRISPR-engineered allogeneic (off-the-shelf) switchable CAR-T candidate targeting CD123 for relapsed/refractory AML and other CD123-positive hematologic malignancies; first patient dosed in a Phase IA study.
- **AVC-203** — Allogeneic CD19/CD20 dual-targeting CAR-T candidate for relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies and autoimmune disease; evaluated in the Phase I/II QUADvance study, first patient dosed April 2, 2026.

## Achievements

- Raised $112 million Series B in October 2024 led by Novo Holdings.
- Integrated switchable universal CAR-T technology (from GEMoaB/Cellex) with Intellia's CRISPR allogeneic platform - described as the first to combine a switchable CAR-T with an off-the-shelf solution.
- Advanced three clinical candidates: AVC-101, AVC-201 and AVC-203.
- Dosed first patient in a Phase IA study of off-the-shelf candidate AVC-201 for AML.
- Secured IND clearance and EMA CTA approval for the QUADvance study of AVC-203; dosed first patient April 2, 2026.
- Won a grant of up to $40 million from Japan's AMED for global development of AVC-203.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Dosed first patient in the Phase I QUADvance study of AVC-203, an allogeneic CD19/CD20 dual-targeting CAR-T for relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies.
- **2025-12** — Received FDA IND clearance and EMA Clinical Trial Application approval for the QUADvance study of AVC-203.
- **2025-07** — Announced retroviral vector manufacturing collaboration with ViroCell Biologics for AVC-203.
- **2025-06** — AvenCell Japan awarded grant of up to $40 million from AMED to support worldwide development of AVC-203.
- **2024-10** — Closed $112 million Series B financing led by Novo Holdings to advance the switchable CAR-T pipeline.

## Links

- Website: https://avencell.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avencell

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Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-16