Captain T Cell Closes Financing Round To Advance Its Proprietary, Next-Generation TCR-T Pipeline Into The Clinic

Combined with previously secured grants, the funding provides a total of €20 million to advance its autologous program CTC127 to Phase I clinical read-outs and prepare its allogeneic off-the-shelf solid tumor therapy for clinical trials.

The funding round was led by Springboard Health Angels and Pluton Asset Holding AG, with participation from Sintra Limited, Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, and existing investors i&i Biotech Fund, HIL-INVENT, and Brandenburg Kapital.

The proceeds will advance Captain T Cell’s lead program, CTC127, into a first-in-human Phase I clinical trial (TOMATA – “Toolbox-modified MAGE-A4-TCR-T cell therapy for HLA-A1”), led by Prof. Antonia Busse at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, alongside eight other top cancer centers in Germany.

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The trial will enroll patients with advanced MAGE-A4-positive solid tumors, including lung, bladder, gastroesophageal, ovarian, and head and neck cancers. CTC127 leverages the company’s proprietary engineering toolbox to “armor” T cells, enhancing anti-tumor activity, persistence, and resilience in the solid tumor microenvironment.

Meanwhile, the company has already shown complete solid tumor responses in vivo with its first-in-class allogeneic TCR-T platform and is preparing it for clinical trials. Captain T Cell also plans to expand its proprietary toolbox for additional in vivo T cell therapy applications.

“Despite a challenging fundraising environment, we have gained broad investor support, which underscores the strong competitive profile of Captain T Cell’s best- and first-in-class next-generation T cell therapy platform and enables us to advance these therapies for the benefit of cancer patients,” said Dr. Felix Lorenz, CEO of Captain T Cell.

“Our best-in-class autologous program CTC127 will enter the fully funded TOMATA clinical trial and our first-in-class allogeneic TCR-T platform is progressing toward clinical readiness. We are optimistic that our best-in-class toolbox technologies will be clinically validated in the upcoming trial and subsequently expanded into off-the-shelf approaches.”

“We are excited to co-lead this recent financing round of Captain T Cell,” said Dr. Andreas Schmidt of Springboard Health Angels. “The Company´s lead program CTC127 holds the potential to become a highly effective and safe therapy for solid tumor patients who urgently need novel treatment options. With funding secured through the upcoming Phase I readout, Captain T Cell is well positioned for a major value inflection.”

Dr. Theis Terwey, representing lead investor Pluton Asset Holding AG, commented: “MAGE-A4 is a de-risked and commercially validated target. The available preclinical data convincingly demonstrate that Captain T Cell’s toolbox-enhanced approach is conceptually superior to on-market cell therapies against solid tumors, providing strong evidence that the Company can deliver competitive efficacy in large solid tumor indications.”

Dr. Barbora Šumová, Investment Director at i&i Biotech Fund, added: “Since our initial investment, the Captain T Cell team has consistently executed with exceptional speed and quality, achieving every milestone set at the seed round funding stage. We are proud to continue supporting the Company as it advances towards becoming a clinical-stage company.”

Prof. Antonia Busse, Principal Investigator at Charité – Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, noted: “There remains a profound unmet need for effective therapies for patients with advanced solid tumors. We look forward to initiating the clinical safety and efficacy evaluation of CTC127 together with eight other leading cancer centers in Germany.”

About Captain T Cell

Captain T Cell develops next-generation immuno-oncology therapies for solid tumors using a proprietary T cell engineering toolbox, including a TGF-β switch receptor. Its lead autologous program, CTC127, targets MAGE-A4 tumors, while a first-in-class allogeneic platform has shown complete in vivo responses. Founded as an MDC spin-off, it is backed by top European investors.