AI-Driven Cell Therapy Pioneer Outpace Bio Raises $144M in Series B Funding

Outpace Bio, a groundbreaking cell therapy company leveraging state-of-the-art AI-powered protein design, has secured $144 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round. This infusion brings the company's total funding to approximately $200 million. The round was spearheaded by RA Capital Management, with participation from new investors Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Sheatree Capital, Black Opal Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, and other undisclosed investors. Outpace’s existing investors ARTIS Ventures, Playground Global, Bristol Myers Squibb, Abstract Ventures, Civilization Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Breton Capital Ventures, WRF Capital, and Sahsen Ventures, also participated in the financing.

The newly raised capital will drive the advancement of Outpace’s innovative T-cell product candidates toward early clinical proof-of-concept for solid tumor treatments. The company's leading program, OPB-101, features a mesothelin-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell enhanced by Outpace’s proprietary OUTSMART™, OUTLAST™, OUTSPACER™, and OUTSAFE™ technologies. This program is on track for Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance and initial patient dosing by 2025, targeting those with advanced platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer. The funds will also bolster the expansion of Outpace’s future pipeline, harnessing its powerful plug-and-play technology platform.

"We are grateful for the support and partnership of an outstanding syndicate of top-tier investors who share our vision," said Marc Lajoie, PhD, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Outpace. "At our founding, we aimed to build groundbreaking technologies that access novel biology unreachable by standard protein engineering approaches. This allows us to program how cell therapies function inside patients: to access the tumor, to survive, expand, and persist functionally within the tumor, and to enhance the host immune response in the tumor microenvironment. This Series B financing enables us to accelerate the clinical development of our first two programs and to expand our innovative pipeline and platform as we strive to improve patient outcomes."

Additionally, Outpace announced the appointment of Jake Simson, PhD, Partner at RA Capital Management, to its Board of Directors. "Existing cell therapies have fallen short in treating solid tumors, offering limited and transient responses," said Simson. "We are proud to support Outpace’s revolutionary approach to cell therapy. Their unique AI-driven protein design capabilities address the multiple obstacles preventing durable responses, achieving unmatched speed and success rates. The Outpace team stands out for its exceptional mechanism-driven science and commitment to delivering profound shifts in treatment outcomes for patients with solid tumors.

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