solid-tumors
(14)
Triumvira Immunologics, Inc.
Triumvira Immunologics is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing engineered T cell therapies built on its proprietary T cell Antigen Coupler (TAC) platform. Unlike CAR-T, the TAC molecule co-opts the natural T cell receptor to recognize and attack cancer cells, aiming for a more physiological immune response with a potentially safer profile. The company advances autologous and allogeneic TAC T cell candidates against solid-tumor antigens such as HER2, Claudin 18.2, GPC3 and GUCY2C.
Eureka Therapeutics, Inc.
Eureka Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in Emeryville, California, developing next-generation T-cell therapies for cancer, with a focus on hard-to-treat solid tumors. Founded in 2006 by Dr. Cheng Liu, the company pairs its E-ALPHA phage-display antibody engine with its ARTEMIS T-cell receptor platform - an alternative to conventional CAR-T designed to keep engineered T cells potent inside immunosuppressive tumors while sharply reducing the inflammatory cytokine release linked to CAR-T toxicity. Its lead program, ECT204, targets GPC3-positive advanced liver cancer and has received FDA RMAT designation.
Aulos Bioscience
Aulos Bioscience is a Larkspur, California, clinical-stage immuno-oncology company using artificial intelligence to design antibody therapeutics that unlock the anti-cancer power of interleukin-2 (IL-2). Its lead candidate, imneskibart (AU-007) - described as the first AI-designed human monoclonal antibody to enter human clinical trials - redirects IL-2 away from immune-suppressing regulatory T cells and toward immune-activating effector T cells and NK cells, aiming to treat solid tumors such as melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer while avoiding the toxicity that has limited earlier IL-2 therapies.
NEOK Bio
NEOK Bio is a Palo Alto-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing bispecific antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for solid tumors. Founded and led by physician-executive Mayank Gandhi and backed by Korean antibody specialist ABL Bio, NEOK launched from stealth in November 2025 with a $75 million Series A. Its dual-targeting approach binds two complementary tumor antigens at once, aiming to widen the therapeutic window and overcome the resistance and toxicity limits of conventional single-target ADCs. The company's two lead programs, NEOK001 (ROR1/B7-H3) and NEOK002 (EGFR/MUC1), both cleared FDA IND review in early 2026 and are headed into Phase 1 studies.
CatenaBio
CatenaBio is a UC Berkeley spinout building a next-generation bioconjugation platform for targeted cancer therapies. Its proprietary CysTyr platform uses an engineered enzyme, Catenase, to forge a site-specific bond between cysteine and tyrosine residues (the C-Y Bond) using only native amino acids. This lets the company attach multiple different drug payloads to a single antibody, producing Multi-Payload Conjugates (MPCs) designed to overcome tumor resistance where conventional single-payload ADCs fall short.
Alentis Therapeutics
Alentis Therapeutics is a Swiss clinical-stage biotech built around a single, unusual biological target: Claudin-1 (CLDN1), a tight-junction protein that becomes exposed in both fibrotic tissue and solid tumors. Founded in 2019 on the discovery of physician-scientist Professor Thomas Baumert, the company develops first-in-class monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates that bind exposed CLDN1 to reverse organ fibrosis and treat CLDN1-positive cancers. Headquartered in Allschwil near Basel with R&D roots in Strasbourg, Alentis has raised roughly $365 million across rounds, including a $181.4 million Series D in November 2024, and is running clinical trials for its lead antibody lixudebart (ALE.F02) and two ADCs, ALE.P02 and ALE.P03.
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.
Aleta Biotherapeutics
Aleta Biotherapeutics is a Natick, Massachusetts immuno-oncology company building CAR T Engagers (CTEs) - simple biologic proteins that make existing CAR-T cell therapies work better. Its lead drug, ALETA-001, bridges a patient's CD19-targeted CAR T-cells to CD20 on cancer cells, aiming to rescue patients who relapse after standard CAR-T treatment for B-cell cancers. Founded in 2015 by Paul Rennert and Roy Lobb, the company is running a Phase 1/2 trial in the UK with Cancer Research UK and reported encouraging early data in December 2025.
Crossbow Therapeutics, Inc.
Crossbow Therapeutics is a Cambridge, Massachusetts biotechnology company building a new class of cancer immunotherapies. Its T-Bolt platform engineers TCR-mimetic antibodies - T-cell engagers that recognize tiny peptide fragments displayed on a cancer cell's surface (peptide-HLA complexes), opening up intracellular proteins that conventional antibodies cannot reach. The lead program, CBX-250, is a first-in-class T-cell engager in a Phase 1 trial for relapsed or refractory myeloid malignancies. Backed by more than $157M in venture funding, Crossbow aims to expand the universe of targetable cancer antigens.
Simcha Therapeutics
Simcha Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in New Haven, Connecticut that uses directed evolution to engineer next-generation cytokine immunotherapies for cancer. Its lead program, ST-067, is a first-in-class 'decoy-resistant' interleukin-18 (IL-18) variant engineered to evade the natural decoy protein (IL-18BP) that tumors exploit to silence the immune system. Spun out of Aaron Ring's lab at Yale School of Medicine and backed by $40M in Series B financing, Simcha is advancing ST-067 through Phase 1/2 trials in solid tumors and partnering with Janssen to armor CAR T cell therapies.
Cheng Liu
Cheng Liu is the founder, President, and CEO of Eureka Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Emeryville, California. A molecular cell biologist trained at UC Berkeley and Peking University, Liu invented a novel class of TCR mimic antibodies that allow engineered T cells to recognize intracellular tumor antigens - a major challenge in treating solid tumors. Since founding Eureka in 2006 after a decade at Chiron/Novartis, he has built a pipeline of ARTEMIS T-cell therapies targeting liver cancer, multiple myeloma, and neuroblastoma, with the company's ECT204 program earning FDA RMAT Designation in January 2026 - one of the highest-priority designations the FDA gives to regenerative medicine therapies. Eureka has raised over $168 million in total funding and holds more than 500 patents worldwide.
Moriah Nachbaur
Moriah Katherine Nachbaur is the Chief Business Officer at Pheast Therapeutics, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company in Redwood City, California, pioneering macrophage checkpoint inhibitors to teach the immune system to destroy cancer cells. Drawing on two decades of cross-functional biopharma experience - from lab benches at Genentech to executive boardrooms at Coherus BioSciences and her own consulting firm MKN Biotech - she brings a rare blend of scientific literacy, operational depth, and strategic vision to one of oncology's most promising new frontiers: the innate immune system's untapped power against solid tumors.
Roy Maute
Roy Maute is co-founder and CEO of Pheast Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech in Redwood City, CA, developing macrophage-targeted cancer immunotherapies. Trained at UC Berkeley, Columbia (PhD, Genetics), and Stanford (postdoc under Irving Weissman), Maute has built a career at the intersection of innate immunology and drug development. Before Pheast, he co-founded Ab Initio Biotherapeutics (acquired by Ligand in 2019) and led translational research at Forty Seven Inc. ahead of its $4.9B acquisition by Gilead in 2020. At Pheast, he is advancing PHST001, a novel anti-CD24 antibody that teaches macrophages to eat cancer cells, currently in Phase 1 clinical trials with FDA Fast Track Designation for ovarian cancer.
Scott Clarke
Scott Clarke is the CEO of CatalYm GmbH, a Munich-based biotech company developing visugromab, a monoclonal antibody targeting GDF-15 to reverse cancer immunotherapy resistance. With over 20 years in biopharmaceuticals - spanning Roche's global oncology partnering, BioMarin, Tizona Therapeutics, and Ambagon Therapeutics - Clarke joined CatalYm in January 2025 to lead the company's $319M-funded push through Phase 2b clinical trials, building on visugromab's striking Phase 1/2a results published in Nature showing durable responses lasting 28-32+ months in multiple solid tumor types.