Nkure Therapeutics, an NK cell therapy company, announced the closure of its pre–Series A round with participation from Endiya Partners, Kotak Investment Advisors, Featherlite and a few angel investors. Nkure expects to use the investments to complete its manufacturing protocols and complete its preclinical studies for its planned IND submission..
Nkure was founded in 2022 by Dr Mahendra Rao (previously Founding Director of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the NIH, US) and is supported by a team of scientists based out of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (CCAMP) and business leaders who have co-founded some leading healthcare start-ups.
Nkure has developed an NK cell platform at laboratory scale coupled with agreements with CDMOs in India and the US. It has also secured exclusive licenses to a specialised CAR and related technologies to enable allogenic cell therapy. Nkure is the recipient of grant funding from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.
Commenting on these positive developments, Dr. Mahendra Rao, Founder and CEO said, “Based on early results, soon to be patented technologies and availability of a world class research facility (CCAMP), we will bring affordable solutions to cancer patients in India afflicted by late stage leukemias and solid tumours. This disruptive technology holds promise for treating hitherto incurable cancers.”
“The current global ecosystem for cancer cell therapy is facing significant scale and pricing challenges. We believe Nkure is uniquely positioned to disrupt this status quo and we are excited to be their partners in this journey” added Dr Ramesh Byrapaneni representing Endiya Partners on the Nkure Board.
“The unique therapy platform developed by Nkure will address incurable diseases that impact millions of patients every year. This solution is uniquely designed to enhance access to such innovative cancer treatments due to its scalability and affordability” said Nitin Deshmukh of Kotak Investments.