Senti Biosciences, a firm pioneering innovative cancer treatments through a novel, programmable biological platform, has announced the successful completion of a $105 million funding round. The investment was spearheaded by the venture capital division of Bayer, a leading life sciences company.

The company’s core technology leverages advanced computational biology to create cell and gene therapies capable of targeting cells within the body with greater accuracy.

Tim Lu, CEO of Senti Bio, draws a parallel between his company’s advancements and the evolution of computer programming. He explains, “Rather than simply creating a basic program, we’re introducing the capacity for conditional logic and object-oriented functionality.”

By engineering genetic components that recognize multiple markers, Senti Bio’s therapies enhance their ability to pinpoint genetic material in the body and deliver treatments directly to the source of the illness. “Cells can now express multiple receptors, rather than just a single one,” Lu clarified.

Initially, the company is focusing its gene circuit technology on the development of therapies utilizing chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cells. These cells are designed to identify and destroy cancer cells throughout the body. Current cell and gene therapies often employ chimeric antigen receptor T-cells, a type of white blood cell crucial for immune response and pathogen elimination.

However, T-cell-based therapies can sometimes cause harmful side effects, triggering immune reactions that are comparable in severity to the disease itself. Therapies utilizing CAR-NK cells offer a comparable therapeutic effect while minimizing these adverse reactions.

Lu emphasizes that this benefit is independent of the gene circuit technology. “The gene circuit provides the specificity. Currently, when using CAR-T or CAR-NK cells, the approach involves identifying a target and hoping it doesn’t impact healthy cells. Our gene circuits allow CAR-NK cells to recognize two targets instead of one.”

This heightened precision reduces the risk of damage to healthy cells alongside the elimination of mutated cells or pathogens.

For Lu and his co-founders – Jim Collins, a professor at MIT; Wilson Wong, a professor at Boston University; and Phillip Lee, a veteran in synthetic biology – Senti Bio represents the culmination of years of dedicated research.

Lu likens the development of this gene circuit technology to the early stages of semiconductor innovation. “Initially, various components were being developed in research settings, but achieving the necessary scale required an industrial approach.”

To translate this research into a viable company, Lu and his co-founders secured licensing agreements from MIT, Boston University, and Stanford.

“At the company’s inception, we possessed a collection of tools and the expertise to utilize them effectively,” Lu stated. “However, a fully integrated platform was still under development. 

The company now possesses this comprehensive platform, and with the new funding from Leaps by Bayer and other investors, Senti is poised to begin the process of commercialization.

The initial therapeutic focus will be on acute myeloid leukemia, hepatocellular carcinoma, and other undisclosed solid tumor targets, as stated by the company.

“Leaps by Bayer is dedicated to investing in groundbreaking technologies with the potential to significantly improve the lives of millions of patients,” explained Juergen Eckhardt, MD, head of Leaps by Bayer. “We are confident that synthetic biology will become a vital component of next-generation cell and gene therapy, and Senti Bio’s leadership in designing and optimizing biological circuits aligns perfectly with our goal of preventing and curing cancer and restoring tissue function.”

Lu and his co-founders envision their technology as a versatile platform for developing cell therapies for a wide range of diseases and applications, and they plan to collaborate with other pharmaceutical companies to bring these products to market.  

“Over the past two years, our team has engineered, constructed, and evaluated thousands of complex gene circuits, resulting in a robust product pipeline initially focused on allogeneic CAR-NK cell therapies for challenging liquid and solid tumor conditions,” Lu noted in a statement. “I anticipate continued advancements in both our platform and pipeline, including the initiation of IND-enabling studies in 2021.”

This latest funding round brings Senti’s total capital raised to nearly $160 million, and Lu indicated that the funds will be allocated to expanding manufacturing capabilities and accelerating collaborations with pharmaceutical partners.

The company anticipates submitting its investigational new drug applications by late 2022 and early 2023, with initial clinical trials expected to commence in 2023.

The field of gene circuit development is rapidly evolving and includes several key players, such as Cell Design Labs, which was acquired by Gilead in 2017 for a potential sum of up to $567 million. Other companies involved in similar therapeutic approaches include CRISPR Therapeutics, Intellius, and Editas, according to Lu.