Tolerance Bio secures up to $260 M for thymus‑targeting fusion protein, moves into Phase 2 trials
Tolerance Bio, a Philadelphia biotech founded in October 2024, has signed a licensing agreement to acquire rights to NeoImmuneTech’s long‑acting IL‑7 fusion protein, efineptakin alfa, for up to $260 million. The deal covers thymus‑related indications in the Americas and Europe and marks the company’s first entry into clinical testing.
The candidate, also known as NT‑I7, has been studied mainly in blood cancers by NeoImmuneTech and its partners. Tolerance Bio believes the molecule’s ability to boost thymic function can be applied to a broader range of immune‑mediated diseases, leveraging the thymus’s role in T‑cell development and its decline with age.
Phase 2 trials will evaluate efineptakin alfa’s capacity to enhance thymic activity, starting with HIV immunological non‑response as a model of accelerated immune aging. Success in this indication could inform further development for other thymus‑related conditions.
This writeup was produced by pharmadog from original reporting by Fierce Biotech.
Original headline: “Tolerance Bio jumps into phase 2 with $260M deal for thymus-targeting fusion protein”
read at Fierce Biotech ↗
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