March Biosciences

Investment: $4.8 million 

Investment date: November 2023
Drug: MB-105

Target: T-cell leukemias and lymphomas

Prevalence:: 2,000 patients per year (U.S.)

The firm: Based in Houston, Texas, March Biosciences is a clinical-stage company in the cell therapy field focused on developing CAR-T cell strategies to address the most challenging hematological cancers.  

How MB-105 works: Invented at the Baylor College of Medicine, the drug corners cancer cells and prompts the immune system to destroy T-cell lymphoma cancer and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

How it’s different: The CD5 protein occurs on both cancerous and healthy cells, which makes it a challenge for other therapies that ramp up the body’s immune system to fight cancers. MB-105 is designed to target only cancerous cells that overexpress CD5 without damaging healthy T-cells, maintaining its effectiveness against tumors.

Trials: A Phase 1 trial conducted by the Baylor College of Medicine showed a favorable safety profile and encouraging early efficacy results. The Phase 2 study will be conducted at MD Anderson and led by Dr. Swaminathan Iyer.

Website: https://march.bio