PHILADELPHIA, PA — Tolerance Bio, Inc. has announced the recent closure of a $17.2 million seed financing round, surpassing its original funding goals. The round was led by Columbus Venture Partners with contributions from Criteria Bio Ventures, Sessa Capital, BioAdvance, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and several individual biotechnology investors.
The company is pioneering an innovative platform that uses thymus-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based therapies. These “off the shelf” treatments aim to combat a range of immune-mediated diseases, including cancer, autoimmunity, and transplant rejection, by enhancing immune tolerance.
Dr. Francisco Leon, Tolerance Bio’s Co-Founder and CEO, emphasized the team’s commitment to patient-centered solutions, highlighting their goal to rapidly develop and validate these therapies in rare disease contexts before expanding to broader applications.
The thymus, vital for early life immune development, diminishes with age, increasing susceptibility to immune diseases. Tolerance Bio’s technologies seek to delay this decline and restore thymic function, potentially boosting longevity.
The iPSC technology originated from research at the University of Colorado and the University of Florida, led by Dr. Holger Russ, a co-founder of Tolerance Bio. Dr. Russ expressed enthusiasm for advancing this technology with the company’s experienced team.
The leadership includes industry veterans like Yeh-Chuin Poh, Ph.D., Vice President of Technical Operations, and Justin Vogel, CFO, all bringing extensive expertise from leading pharmaceutical firms. Their collective experience is poised to drive Tolerance Bio towards transforming immune disease treatment.
Columbus Venture Partners’ Managing Partner, Damia Tormo, expressed optimism about the potential of Tolerance Bio’s work to prevent and treat immune diseases while possibly extending human lifespan. Similarly, Pablo Cironi, Ph.D., from Criteria Bio Ventures, commended the team’s expertise and the potential impact of their thymus-based therapies on managing immune-mediated diseases.
The successful funding round positions Tolerance Bio to make significant strides in developing groundbreaking treatments, addressing critical unmet needs in the field of immune disease management.
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