LGBTQ+ Founder
PhD Founder
VC-Backed Founder
Serial EntrepreneurAbout
KiraGen Bio engineers programmable durability into solid-tumor cell therapies, starting with recurrent glioblastoma. Its lead candidate KGEN-001 is a healthy-donor, off-the-shelf, base-edited CAR-T therapy combining dual-antigen recognition, six receptor knockouts across five resistance programs, and repeat intracerebroventricular dosing to achieve durable tumor control where existing CAR-T therapies shrink tumors but fail to sustain remission.
Traction & Metrics
Fundraising
$2.4M
Previous Round
Products
KGEN-001
A base-edited, healthy-donor, off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapy for recurrent glioblastoma. It recognizes two tumor antigens (EGFR806 × IL13Rα2) via a single TanCAR receptor, incorporates six receptor knockouts across five resistance programs to overcome tumor microenvironment suppression (checkpoint inhibition, cytokine suppression, metabolic suppression, death-receptor attrition, and TAM-TCR exhaustion), and is designed for repeat intracerebroventricular (ICV) dosing via Ommaya reservoir to sustain durable tumor control, addressing the key limitation of existing CAR-T therapies in recurrent GBM where tumors shrink but control does not last.
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KiraLOGIC
A Large Phenotype Model platform that ranks candidate multi-edit cell therapy architectures from a combinatorial space of ~80 biology-selected genes (300.5M possible six-edit combinations), producing a ranked, testable shortlist for build-test-measure cycles in patient-derived models. Enables KiraGen to rapidly identify next-generation durability architectures across additional solid tumor indications without starting from scratch.
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Updates
KiraGen advances KGEN-001 into translational GBM studies
KiraGen has initiated approximately $400K in foundation-supported patient-derived tumoroid and orthotopic PDX studies for KGEN-001, our multiplex-edited, off-the-shelf CAR-T program for recurrent glioblastoma. Initial tumoroid data are expected in September 2026, followed by early orthotopic efficacy data in November and 90-day durability data in January 2027. These studies build on encouraging in vivo proof of concept and will support final candidate selection and our path toward Development Candidate nomination.