Rebuilding the T-cell therapy from the receptor up - to reach the solid tumors that conventional CAR-T left behind.
Eureka Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that designs T-cell therapies for cancer. Its focus is the category that has humbled a generation of cell-therapy companies: solid tumors, the dense, immunosuppressive masses where conventional CAR-T cells tend to lose their potency.
The company's approach rests on two proprietary platforms that work in sequence. E-ALPHA, a phage-display antibody engine, uses high-throughput screening to discover cancer-specific antibodies - including TCR-mimic antibodies that can recognize fragments of intracellular proteins presented on a cell's surface. That capability matters because antibodies famously cannot see inside a cell, which places a large share of cancer targets, such as AFP in liver cancer, out of reach for most therapies.
The second platform, ARTEMIS, is where the antibodies are put to work. Rather than adopting the conventional chimeric antigen receptor design, Eureka built its own T-cell receptor architecture - the AbTCR, or antibody-T cell receptor. It is engineered to regulate how strongly a T cell activates and how much inflammatory cytokine it releases when it engages a tumor cell, without giving up cancer-killing power.
In preclinical work, that design matched the potency of current CAR-T therapies while dramatically reducing the inflammatory cytokines associated with the severe side effects that can land CAR-T patients in intensive care. A separate NCI-led study, published in Cell Reports Medicine, reported ARTEMIS CAR T cells staying active and functional in the low-antigen, immunosuppressive environments where conventional CAR-T typically fails.
The mission the company states is simple and has not changed in twenty years: harness the evolutionary power of the human immune system to transform the lives of patients fighting cancer.
"Focused on developing transformative technology platforms that can access cancer-specific targets and harness the evolutionary power of T cells for the treatment of solid tumors."
A proprietary alternative to the conventional CAR. The ARTEMIS receptor regulates T-cell activation and cytokine release on tumor engagement, aiming to match CAR-T potency while improving safety, tumor infiltration and T-cell persistence.
A phage-display platform using high-throughput screening to find cancer-specific and TCR-mimic antibodies - including those that reach intracellular targets presented as peptide-MHC complexes.
An autologous ARTEMIS CAR (AbTCR) T-cell therapy targeting GPC3-positive advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, studied in the Phase I/II ARYA-3 trial. Granted FDA RMAT designation; advanced to Phase II in 2024.
An ARTEMIS T-cell therapy targeting CD19 for relapsed and refractory CD19-positive non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Received FDA IND allowance to begin clinical testing.
Approved CAR-T therapies transformed treatment for certain blood cancers, but two problems have limited them: they can trigger dangerous cytokine release, and they often stall inside solid tumors. Eureka's answer was to re-engineer the receptor itself.
Illustrative comparison based on Eureka's reported preclinical and clinical findings. Not to scale.
"A novel receptor that better regulates T cell activation and cytokine release upon engagement with tumor cells, without sacrificing potency."
There is a second differentiator on the discovery side. Because ECT204's antibody recognizes GPC3 directly and does not require the patient to be HLA-A2 positive, the therapy is potentially available to a far broader liver-cancer population than approaches that depend on HLA matching. GPC3 appears in more than 70% of hepatocellular carcinoma cells, which is part of why Eureka chose it as a beachhead target.
As a clinical-stage biotech with no marketed products, Eureka's ultimate beneficiaries are patients - initially adults with GPC3-positive advanced liver cancer and CD19-positive non-Hodgkin lymphoma enrolled in its trials. Its commercial counterparties are the pharmaceutical partners, academic cancer centers and investors that fund and co-develop its programs.
The business model reflects that. Eureka develops its assets in-house, funded by venture and strategic investment, non-dilutive grants from bodies such as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and collaboration deals. Value is realized through clinical advancement, partnerships and potential out-licensing rather than product sales.
In the market landscape, Eureka sits among next-generation cell-therapy developers targeting solid tumors - a group that includes Lyell Immunopharma, Adaptimmune, Legend Biotech and the GPC3-focused Carsgen Therapeutics - and the broader CAR-T incumbents such as Novartis, Kite/Gilead and Bristol Myers Squibb, whose approved products largely address blood cancers.
Its distinguishing position is the AbTCR architecture. Where much of the field competes on which target to hit, Eureka competes on how the T cell responds once it arrives - a bet that the receptor design, not just the antigen, is where the next breakthrough lives.
Eureka was founded in February 2006 by Dr. Cheng Liu, who serves as Founder, President, CEO and Chairman. A former principal scientist in antibody drug discovery at Chiron (now Novartis), he holds more than 500 patents and received Special U.S. Congressional Recognition in 2007.
The scientific advisory board reflects the company's research-driven culture. It includes Randy W. Schekman, who shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; David A. Scheinberg of Memorial Sloan Kettering; City of Hope surgeon Yuman Fong, a pioneer of robotic liver surgery; and Stanford's Samuel So, founder of the Asian Liver Center. Board member Sandy Chau has served since the company's inception.
A Nobel laureate, a robotic-surgery pioneer and a founder with 500+ patents - assembled around one hard problem.
Dr. Cheng Liu founds Eureka in February 2006 to pursue antibody and T-cell approaches to cancer.
Founder Dr. Cheng Liu receives Special U.S. Congressional Recognition for his work.
Eureka advances its proprietary AbTCR platform as an alternative to conventional CAR-T.
Clearance to test the ARTEMIS therapy in CD19-positive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Phase I/II study of ECT204 opens for GPC3-positive advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
City of Hope treats the first patient with GPC3-targeting ARTEMIS T cells; Eureka partners with Imugene on solid tumors.
FDA grants ECT204 RMAT designation; NCI-led ARTEMIS study published in Cell Reports Medicine.
The GPC3-targeting liver-cancer program moves into Phase II.
It is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing T-cell therapies for cancer, focused on solid tumors, using its E-ALPHA antibody-discovery and ARTEMIS T-cell receptor platforms.
The ARTEMIS (AbTCR) receptor is designed to better regulate T-cell activation and cytokine release, aiming to match CAR-T potency while reducing inflammatory toxicity and improving tumor infiltration and persistence.
ECT204 is Eureka's lead ARTEMIS (AbTCR) T-cell therapy targeting GPC3-positive advanced liver cancer, studied in the Phase I/II ARYA-3 trial and granted FDA RMAT designation.
Dr. Cheng Liu founded the company in February 2006; he serves as Founder, President, CEO and Chairman.
Its headquarters is at 5858 Horton St, Emeryville, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.