# Leucid Bio

> Leucid Bio is a clinical-stage London biotech developing next-generation CAR-T cell therapies for refractory solid tumors. Spun out of King's College London in 2014 to commercialize two decades of research by Dr John Maher, the company's proprietary Lateral CAR platform redesigns the CAR receptor so its signalling domains sit laterally alongside the cell membrane - mimicking natural immune receptors to boost potency while reducing toxicity. Its lead candidate, LEU011, is an autologous NKG2D-targeting CAR-T therapy now in the Phase I/IIa AERIAL trial for refractory solid tumors.

- **Founded:** 2014
- **Headquarters:** London, United Kingdom
- **Founders:** John Maher (Scientific Founder & Chief Scientific Officer)
- **Team size:** ~23 employees
- **Products:** Lateral CAR Platform, LEU011 (LEU-011), AERIAL Clinical Trial
- **Notable:** Spun 20+ years of King's College London CAR-T research into a clinical-stage company, Developed the proprietary Lateral CAR platform redesigning receptor architecture, Advanced LEU011 into the Phase I/IIa AERIAL clinical trial for solid tumors

## Products & services

- **Lateral CAR Platform** — Proprietary CAR-T engineering platform that redesigns the chimeric antigen receptor so its signalling domains are distributed laterally alongside the cell membrane, recapitulating the structure of natural immune receptors for enhanced potency and reduced toxicity ('build out, not down').
- **LEU011 (LEU-011)** — Lead autologous CAR-T candidate targeting NKG2D stress ligands - expressed on more than 80% of human tumor cells - with an added CXCR2 mechanism to enhance tumor infiltration. In Phase I/IIa AERIAL clinical trial for refractory solid tumors.
- **AERIAL Clinical Trial** — Phase I/IIa dose-escalation study (NCT06193902) evaluating the safety and clinical activity of LEU011 in patients with refractory solid tumors.

## Achievements

- Spun 20+ years of King's College London CAR-T research into a clinical-stage company
- Developed the proprietary Lateral CAR platform redesigning receptor architecture
- Advanced LEU011 into the Phase I/IIa AERIAL clinical trial for solid tumors
- Dosed first patient in the AERIAL trial (2025)
- Established clinical proof-of-concept: demonstrated tumor infiltration by LEU011 cells and disease control at the lowest dose (Nov 2025)
- Raised Series A to £18.7M to date across two financings

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Provided update on the Phase I/IIa AERIAL trial: LEU011 established proof-of-concept with encouraging PK/PD, tumor infiltration on post-treatment biopsies, disease control at the lowest dose, and a well-tolerated safety profile; presented at SITC 2025.
- **2025-05** — Announced treatment of the first patient in the AERIAL trial of NKG2D CAR-T therapy LEU011 for solid tumors.
- **2025-02** — Completed first close of £7.2M Series A1 financing co-led by Epidarex Capital and 2invest AG, bringing Series A to £18.7M.
- **2023-07** — Appointed Filippo Petti (formerly CEO/CFO of Celyad Oncology) as Chief Executive Officer.

## Links

- Website: https://leucid.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leucid
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/leucidbio

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Last updated: 2026-07-19