# Synthekine

> Synthekine is a Menlo Park biotechnology company engineering cytokines to steer immune activity more selectively. Its lead candidate, STK-012, is in a randomized Phase 2 trial for first-line PD-L1-negative nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer; other programs and partnerships extend its technology into inflammatory disease and cell therapy.

- **Founded:** 2018
- **Headquarters:** Menlo Park, United States
- **Founders:** K. Christopher Garcia (Scientific founder)
- **Products:** STK-012, STK-026, IL-10 agonist program, STK-038, STK-009 and SYNCAR cell therapies
- **Notable:** Raised $289.5 million across disclosed Series A, B and C financings., Dosed the first STK-012 Phase 1 patient in 2022 and the first SYNERGY-101 randomized Phase 2 patient in November 2025., Reported a 50% objective response rate among 36 efficacy-evaluable patients in an early STK-012 combination study at AACR 2026.

## Products & services

- **STK-012** — Alpha/beta-biased IL-2 partial agonist in the global randomized Phase 2 SYNERGY-101 study with pembrolizumab and chemotherapy for first-line PD-L1-negative nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer.
- **STK-026** — IL-12 partial agonist for solid tumors; listed at IND-enabling stage.
- **IL-10 agonist program** — Selective IL-10 receptor agonists for inflammatory disease under a worldwide Sanofi collaboration.
- **STK-038** — IL-22 partial agonist and surrogate cytokine agonist for obesity and inflammatory disease; discovery/preclinical.
- **STK-009 and SYNCAR cell therapies** — Orthogonal IL-2 and engineered CAR-T programs now listed as legacy assets available for partnering, not active internal development.

## Achievements

- Raised $289.5 million across disclosed Series A, B and C financings.
- Dosed the first STK-012 Phase 1 patient in 2022 and the first SYNERGY-101 randomized Phase 2 patient in November 2025.
- Reported a 50% objective response rate among 36 efficacy-evaluable patients in an early STK-012 combination study at AACR 2026.
- Signed an IL-10 collaboration with Sanofi carrying a $40 million upfront payment.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Susan M. Molineaux became CEO, succeeding Debanjan Ray, who remains an adviser.
- **2026-04** — Presented updated STK-012 Phase 1a/1b data at AACR: 50% objective response among 36 efficacy-evaluable patients in combination with pembrolizumab and chemotherapy.
- **2026-02** — Announced Merck clinical trial collaboration and Keytruda supply for the ongoing SYNERGY-101 Phase 2 study.
- **2025-11** — Dosed the first patient in global randomized Phase 2 SYNERGY-101.

## Links

- Website: https://www.synthekine.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/synthekine
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/synthekine

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/synthekine
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-29