Talaris Therapeutics Secures $100M Series A Financing to Advance FCR001, a Cell Therapy for Inducing Immune Tolerance in Organ Transplant Recipients

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that on April 18, local time, Talaris Therapeutics, headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, announced the completion of a $100 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Blackstone Life Sciences, with participation from Qiming Venture Partners USA and Longitude Capital. The funds will be used to support clinical trials of FCR001, Talaris Therapeutics’ proprietary cell therapy. FCR001 is a treatment targeting indications related to allogeneic transplant immunity.

Talaris Therapeutics is a biotechnology company founded by Dr. Suzanne Ildstad. The company is dedicated to developing cell therapies that eliminate the burden of chronic immunosuppression in organ transplant recipients. Dr. Ildstad began her research on cell therapy at the University of Pittsburgh in 1998, where she and her team discovered a method to induce immune tolerance in organ transplant recipients. This approach involves infusing specific cells from the organ donor into the recipient, thereby preventing the recipient’s immune system from rejecting the transplanted organ.

Phase 2 clinical trials of FCR001 have demonstrated that 70% of living-donor kidney transplant recipients treated with FCR001 were able to discontinue all immunosuppressive medications within 12 months post-transplantation. To date, all patients receiving FCR001 therapy have achieved drug-free immune tolerance without any signs of organ rejection. Talaris Therapeutics plans to initiate Phase 3 clinical trials of FCR001 in the second half of this year.

Requadt, the new Chief Executive Officer of Talaris Therapeutics, is a seasoned biotechnology expert and life sciences investor with nearly two decades of industry experience. Prior to joining Talaris Therapeutics, he was a member of the investment team at Clarus Funds (now Blackstone Life Sciences). Requadt currently remains a Partner at Blackstone Life Sciences. Previously, he served as Business Director at Transform Pharmaceuticals until its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson.

“Talaris Therapeutics’ cell therapy technology holds great promise in the field of post-transplant care. This approach, which could potentially replace lifelong immunosuppressive therapy with a single treatment, will be a boon for patients,” said Nicholas Galakatos, Head of Blackstone Life Sciences. “Talaris is conducting pivotal studies under the leadership of an experienced management team. The company’s product has the potential to improve the lives of many patients, which aligns with Blackstone Life Sciences’ investment strategy.”

“A drug-free approach to inducing immune tolerance represents a breakthrough in the field of organ transplantation,” said Scott Requadt, CEO of Talaris Therapeutics. “With this financing, Talaris Therapeutics can rapidly advance late-stage clinical trials of this important therapy. I am delighted to join Talaris Therapeutics at this pivotal moment in the company’s development.”

Blackstone Life Sciences, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, specializes in the computer software sector, providing computer software services and management consulting services.

Qiming Venture Partners was established in 2006 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China. In 2017, Qiming Venture Partners raised its first U.S. dollar-denominated fund in the United States and established Qiming Venture Partners USA. Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages seven U.S. dollar funds and five RMB funds, with total assets under management nearing $4 billion.

Reference Link:

https://talaristx.com/

http://www.qimingvc.com/CN/index.html

http://www.finsmes.com/2019/04/talaris-therapeutics-raises-100m-in-series-a-financing.html

(Compiled by Liu Na)