Be Biopharma

Advancing our science with bold humanity

Press Releases

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Resilience to Manufacture and Supply Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-Grade Viral Vector and Drug Product for Be Bio’s Initial Rare Disease Clinical Programs

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & SAN DIEGO May 19, 2022 – Be Biopharma, Inc. (“Be Bio”) and National Resilience, Inc. (Resilience) today announced a strategic collaboration to advance initial programs in Be Bio’s rare disease pipeline. Be Bio’s proprietary engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM) platform is harnessing the power of the human B cell to create a new class of autologous and allogeneic cellular medicines that durably and redosably produce therapeutic proteins in vivo without toxic pre-conditioning.

The two companies are investing to drive innovation and reliability in cell therapy manufacturing, a critical success factor for broad and meaningful patient impact. As part of this unique partnership, Resilience will dedicate personnel solely to produce and supply Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-grade viral vector and cell therapy drug product for the initial programs in Be Bio’s rare disease pipeline. Through a creative cost and risk-sharing model, Resilience will be responsible for manufacturing costs and receive potential future milestones and royalties.

“Over the past year, Be Bio has built a strong foundation with our BeCM platform, pipeline, team, and recent $130 million financing. Manufacturing is critical to rapidly progress our BeCMs to the clinic and we have built non-GMP manufacturing capabilities in our Cambridge facility. This deal allows us to drive GMP manufacturing with an outstanding partner, and in a capital efficient manner,” said Joanne Smith-Farrell, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Be Bio. “Resilience’s broad manufacturing capabilities, strong collaborative spirit and dedicated resources to our platform, make them an ideal partner for our BeCM programs.”

Resilience will lead clinical GMP manufacturing of both the viral vector and the cell therapy drug product for Be Bio’s initial rare disease programs to support first-in-human clinical trials. Resilience will apply its pioneering bioprocessing solutions and network of cell therapy sites, including facilities in Research Triangle Park, NC, Philadelphia, PA, Waltham, MA and Marlborough, MA to conduct the work.

“This collaboration shows our excitement for the promising science of Be Bio’s proprietary BeCM platforms, and our confidence in their expertise to deliver transformative cell therapies,” said Rahul Singhvi, Sc.D., Chief Executive Officer of Resilience. “By working alongside Be Bio early in the drug development process, we aim to accelerate the development of their B cell medicines with the potential to unlock a pipeline of product candidates across a variety of serious diseases.”

About B Cells – A New Class of Cellular Medicines

Imagine what could “Be?” In nature, a single B cell engrafts in the bone marrow and can produce thousands of proteins per second at constant levels over decades. B cells are nature’s exquisite medicine factories, manufacturing proteins to fight disease and maintain health. Unleashing the power of B cells is driving a new class of cellular medicines – Engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM). BeCMs have the potential to be durable, allogeneic, redosable and administered without toxic conditioning. The promise of BeCMs could transform therapeutic biologics with broad application — across protein classes, patient populations and therapeutic areas.

About Be Biopharma

Be Biopharma (“Be Bio”) is pioneering Engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM) to dramatically improve patients’ lives who are living with cancer, rare diseases and other serious conditions. With eyes locked on the patient, our team of purpose-driven scientists, technologists, manufacturing experts and business builders collaborate to create a bold new class of cell therapies. Be Bio was founded in October 2020 by Longwood Fund and B cell engineering pioneers David Rawlings, M.D., and Richard James, Ph.D. from Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Be Bio is backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, RA Capital Management, Alta Partners, Longwood Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb and Takeda Ventures. Since our founding, Be Bio’s investors have committed over $180 million to enable the Company to re-imagine medicine based on the power of B cell therapy. For more information, please visit us at Be.Bio and our LinkedIn page.

About Resilience

Resilience is a technology-focused biomanufacturing company dedicated to broadening access to complex medicines. Founded in 2020, the company is building a sustainable network of high-tech, end-to-end manufacturing solutions to ensure the treatments of today and tomorrow can be made quickly, safely, and at scale. Resilience seeks to free its partners to focus on the discoveries that improve patients’ lives by continuously advancing the science of biopharmaceutical manufacturing and development. For more information, visit www.Resilience.com and follow us on social media: @IncResilience on Twitter and Resilience on LinkedIn.

Media Contacts:

Be Bio

Gina Nugent

Ten Bridge Communications

gina@tenbridgecommunications.com

617-460-3579

Resilience

Ryan Flinn

Head of Communications, Resilience

Ryan.flinn@resilience.com

510-207-7616

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Financing led by ARCH Venture Partners with participation from new investors and existing investors: Atlas Venture, RA Capital Management, Alta Partners, Longwood Fund and Takeda Ventures

Proceeds will advance autologous and allogeneic Engineered B Cell Medicine (BeCM) platforms, as well as progress pipeline candidates in oncology and rare disease toward investigational new drug (IND) applications

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. April 14, 2022 – Be Biopharma (“Be Bio”), a pioneer in the discovery and development of Engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM), today announced the closing of a $130 million financing, bringing the total investment in the Company to over $180 million. The proceeds will advance Be Bio’s proprietary autologous and allogeneic BeCM platforms across multiple therapeutic areas and progress pipeline candidates toward the clinic. The Series B was led by ARCH Venture Partners and joined by Bristol Myers Squibb and other new investors, alongside existing investors including Atlas Venture, RA Capital Management, Alta Partners, Longwood Fund and Takeda Ventures.

Steven Gillis, Ph.D., Managing Director at ARCH Venture Partners, joins the Board of Directors. Robert Nelsen, co-founder and Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners and Robert Plenge, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President, and Head of the Immunology, Cardiovascular and Fibrosis Thematic Research Center at Bristol Myers Squibb, join as observers.

“The human B cell produces thousands of proteins per second. Be Bio is harnessing this remarkable cell to engineer a new class of cellular medicines that produce durable therapeutic proteins in vivo with the potential ability to dose titrate, and re-dose when required, without the need for toxic pre-conditioning,” said Joanne Smith-Farrell, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Be Bio. “Our pipeline spans multiple therapeutic areas, and we are inspired and humbled by the potential to transform patients’ lives. With the support of highly regarded investors and the addition of Dr. Gillis to our Board of Directors, Be Bio is in a strong position to advance novel programs across our rare disease and oncology portfolios, further develop our platform and manufacturing capabilities and expand our team.”

“Be Bio’s leadership has an exemplary record of developing and commercializing products in the cell and gene therapy field and I am encouraged by their progress since launch,” said Steven Gillis, Ph.D., Managing Director at ARCH Venture Partners. “I am pleased to join the Board and support the Company in its efforts to develop a transformative B cell platform. The untapped potential of B cell medicines is exciting, as is Be Bio’s highly modular platform that could rapidly unlock a pipeline of product candidates across a variety of serious diseases.”

Be Bio has a broad pipeline initially focused on rare disease and cancer. As the Company advances its platform, it plans to expand into additional therapeutic areas including infectious disease, neurological conditions and autoimmune disease.

About ARCH Venture Partners

ARCH Venture Partners invests in life science and advanced technology companies and is one of the world’s leading early-stage venture firms. The firm is a recognized leader in commercializing technologies developed at academic institutions, corporate research groups and national laboratories. ARCH invests primarily in companies it co-founds with leading scientists and entrepreneurs, bringing innovations in life sciences and physical sciences to market. For more information visit www.archventure.com.

About Steven Gillis, Ph.D.

Dr. Gillis joins the Be Bio team with decades of experience advancing life science technologies and growing biotechnology companies. With over 300 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of molecular and tumor immunology he is credited as being a pioneer in the field of cytokines and cytokine receptors. Dr. Gillis has been a Managing Director at ARCH Venture Partners since 2006 where he focuses on the development and growth of ARCH’s biotechnology portfolio companies. Additionally, he serves as a Director of Homology Medicines and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, as well as Director and Chairman of Codiak Biosciences and VBI Vaccines. Dr. Gillis also serves as director or chairman of multiple additional, private ARCH portfolio companies, all involved in bringing forward novel medicines directed at significant unmet medical needs. Dr. Gillis received a B.A. from Williams College and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College.

About B Cells – A New Class of Cellular Medicines

Imagine what could “Be?” In nature, a single B cell engrafts in the bone marrow and can produce thousands of proteins per second at constant levels over decades. B cells are nature’s exquisite medicine factories, manufacturing proteins to fight disease and maintain health. Unleashing the power of B cells is driving a new class of cellular medicines – Engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM). BeCMs have the potential to be durable, allogeneic, redosable and administered without toxic conditioning. The promise of BeCMs could transform therapeutic biologics with broad application — across protein classes, patient populations and therapeutic areas.

About Be Biopharma

Be Biopharma (“Be Bio”) is pioneering Engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM) to dramatically improve patients’ lives who are living with cancer, rare diseases and other serious conditions. With eyes locked on the patient, our team of purpose-driven scientists, technologists, manufacturing experts and business builders collaborate to create a bold new class of cell therapies. Be Bio was founded in October 2020 by Longwood Fund and B cell engineering pioneers David Rawlings, M.D., and Richard James, Ph.D. from Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Be Bio is backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, RA Capital Management, Alta Partners, Longwood Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb and Takeda Ventures. Since our founding, Be Bio’s investors have committed over $180 million to enable the Company to re-imagine medicine based on the power of B cell therapy. For more information, please visit us at Be.Bio and our LinkedIn page.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Marin Bergman
Ten Bridge Communications
818-516-2746
marin@tenbridgecommunications.com

Investor Contact:
Mike Biega
Solebury Trout
617-221-9660
mbiega@soleburytrout.com

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Recent Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development at Acceleron and former Chief Medical Officer at Celgene joins an industry leading team, bringing over 30 years of multidisciplinary life science leadership expertise

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Be Biopharma (“Be Bio”), whose mission is to pioneer the emerging new class of engineered B cells as medicines, today announced that Jay Backstrom, M.D., M.P.H., former Head of Research and Development at Acceleron, has joined Be Bio’s Board of Directors. Dr. Backstrom joins a rapidly growing team of scientists, drug developers, and business leaders whose track records have led to the creation and development of some of the industry’s most impactful cell and gene therapies.

“Jay’s exceptional clinical development acumen adds an important skill set to our Board of Directors as we develop our B cell medicine platform towards the clinic,” said Joanne Smith-Farrell, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Be Bio. “I’m excited for Jay to join the team and to benefit from the breadth and depth of his drug development knowledge as we advance our science for the benefit of patients with serious, life-threatening diseases.”

“I look forward to joining Be Bio’s Board of Directors and supporting this pioneering B cell therapy company through the next phase of growth and development towards the clinic,” said Jay Backstrom, M.D., M.P.H. “It’s an incredibly exciting time for the company as we advance transformative science that will unleash the immense power of the B cell, endeavoring to make a substantial impact on patients across a variety of life-threatening diseases.”

Dr. Backstrom joins the Be Bio team with over 30 years of experience in research and development. He recently served as Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development at Acceleron and was previously Chief Medical Officer (and Head of Regulatory Affairs) at Celgene, where he joined in 2008 as Vice President of Clinical Research and Development, with a focus in hematology and oncology. Prior to Celgene, he served as Vice President of Global Medical Affairs and Safety at Pharmion. Dr. Backstrom began his career at Marion Merrell Dow and continued as part of its successor companies including Hoechst Marion Roussel. Prior to his professional career in the biotech industry, Dr. Backstrom served as Staff Physician and Medical Director of the Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Backstrom holds an M.D. from Temple University School of Medicine and received post-graduate training in Internal Medicine at Temple University Hospital. He also earned a Master’s in Public Health from Saint Louis University School of Public Health.

About Be Biopharma

Be Biopharma is a leader in developing B cells as medicines, treating disease with the human body’s native protein factories. We precisely engineer B cells to harness their intrinsic drug-like properties – remarkable protein production, selective tissue targeting, and fine control of their cellular environment – to forge a new category of cell therapy. These medicines are designed to be durable, allogeneic, re-dosable, and administered without toxic conditioning, creating new avenues to halt or reverse severe diseases like cancer, autoimmune conditions, and enzyme deficiency. Founded by Longwood Fund and B cell engineering pioneers David Rawlings, M.D., and Richard James, Ph.D., Be Biopharma is re-imagining medicine based on the power of B cell therapy. Be Bio was founded in October 2020 by Longwood Fund with a $52 million Series A investment led by Atlas Ventures and RA Capital, joined by Alta Partners and Takeda Ventures. For more information, please visit Be Biopharma.

Contacts

Marin Bergman
Ten Bridge Communications
818-516-2746
marin@tenbridgecommunications.com

Melissa Kendis
media@bebiopharma.com

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— Dr. Krishnan Viswanadhan, who previously led the Global Cell Therapy Franchise at Bristol Myers-Squibb, joins as President & Chief Operating Officer

— Brad Hartman joins as Chief People Officer, adding deep experience in leading fast-paced buildouts of cell and gene therapy companies

— Key hires advance Be Bio’s commitment to build and rapidly scale the operating environment and culture required to deliver on the breadth and impact of its leading Engineered B Cell Medicines platform and pipeline

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Be Biopharma (“Be Bio”), whose mission is to pioneer the emerging new class of engineered B cells as medicines, today announced that Krishnan Viswanadhan, Pharm.D., MBA, has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer and Brad Hartman has joined as Chief People Officer. They join a rapidly growing team of scientists, drug developers, manufacturing experts, and business leaders whose track records have led to the creation and development of some of the industry’s most impactful gene and cell therapies.

“I am thrilled to welcome both Krishnan and Brad to Be Bio. Krishnan brings an exceptional track record building, rapidly scaling, and effectively leading operations that have delivered multiple highly impactful cell therapy products to patients,” said Joanne Smith-Farrell, PhD, Chief Executive Officer at Be Bio. “At Be Bio, we believe people are our most important asset, and Brad’s track record of building cell and gene therapy enterprises with innovative, inclusive cultures will help us push the boundaries of what’s possible to create an unparalleled work experience.” added Dr. Smith-Farrell. “Both of these industry leaders have come to Be Bio to build something truly unique – a fantastic team and a bespoke operating environment designed especially to unleash the breadth and depth of our leading engineered B cell medicines platform on behalf of patients who need options.”

Prior to joining Be Bio, Krishnan served as Senior Vice President, Global Cell Therapy Franchise Lead at Bristol Myers-Squibb (BMS). In this role, he was responsible for setting the vision and developing the integrated, enterprise-wide cell therapy franchise strategy, building core capabilities, and driving key investments to support long-term growth. He oversaw the program team leaders responsible for the cross-functional development, registration, and lifecycle management of Breyanzi® (liso-cel), a CD19 CAR T in large B cell lymphoma, and Abecma® (ide-cel), the first BCMA CAR T in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Prior to BMS, Krishnan held senior roles in Business Development & Global Alliances as well as Global Project Leadership at Celgene Corporation. He co-founded Advyzom, a boutique consulting company, and held multiple roles in leading development teams and global regulatory strategy at Hoffman-La Roche. Krishnan is a registered pharmacist and received his Pharm.D. from Rutgers University and holds a MBA from Cornell University. He currently serves as a non-executive director on the board of JW Therapeutics, a leading cell therapy company in China.

“What is remarkable about Be Bio is the unprecedented opportunity afforded by this novel B cell therapy platform to tackle a broad set of therapeutic applications that cannot be addressed by other modalities,” said Dr. Viswanadhan. “The possibilities for transforming patient lives in such a wide range of serious and life-threatening diseases, the passion of the team, and the focus on patients are truly inspiring. I am honored to join this incredible team to build a portfolio of disruptive therapies for patients and to create a truly special place to come to work each day.”

Brad joins Be Bio from FerGene where he served as the Chief People Officer leading the rapid expansion of the company in support of a first product commercialization effort for a novel gene therapy. He has spent the past 15 years building small to mid-sized biotech companies from early research stages through commercialization and has played a significant role in launching multiple innovative therapies, including Kalydeco® (cystic fibrosis), Kalbitor® (hereditary angioedema), and Incivek® (hepatitis C), which was one of the fastest blockbuster drug launches of all time. He also founded and built out his own Executive Search firm, ConnectedSearch. Brad received his BS in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester and worked at both the National Cancer Institute and the Graduate School of Pharmacology at the University of Rochester in cellular pharmacology.

“There is a deeply held belief at Be Bio in the paramount importance of people, culture, and service – to patients, to each other, and to the community,” said Mr. Hartman. “I am equally awestruck by the enormous potential of this B cell platform to transform patient lives across a wide variety of serious, life-threatening diseases as I am by this team’s character, heart, and values. I am incredibly honored to join this distinguished team in building a remarkable place to work together and endeavoring to reshape the lives of so many patients and their families.”

About Be Biopharma

Be Biopharma is a leader in developing B cells as medicines, treating disease with the human body’s native protein factories. We precisely engineer B cells to harness their intrinsic drug-like properties – remarkable protein production, selective tissue targeting, and fine control of their cellular environment – to forge a new category of cell therapy. These medicines are designed to be durable, allogeneic, re-dosable, and administered without toxic conditioning, creating new avenues to halt or reverse severe diseases like cancer, autoimmune conditions, and enzyme deficiency. Founded by Longwood Fund and B cell engineering pioneers David Rawlings, M.D., and Richard James, Ph.D., Be Biopharma is re-imagining medicine based on the power of B cell therapy. Be Bio was founded in October 2020 by Longwood Fund with a $52 million Series A investment led by Atlas Ventures and RA Capital, joined by Alta Partners and Takeda Ventures. For more information, please visit Be Biopharma.

Contacts

Melissa Kendis
media@bebiopharma.com

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— Adds to a rapidly expanding team committed to pioneering a new class of therapies —

— Brings demonstrated leadership in business formation and development of cell and gene therapy medicines —

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Be Biopharma (“Be Bio”), whose mission is to pioneer the emerging new category of engineered B cells as medicines, today announced that Joanne Smith-Farrell, Ph.D., has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and Director. Dr. Smith-Farrell will be joined by Chief Scientific Officer, Richard Morgan, Ph.D., a leading expert in cell and gene therapies.

Be Bio’s rapidly growing team of scientists, drug developers, manufacturing experts, and business builders is leading the creation of a new category of cellular therapies, engineered B cell medicines. B cells are exquisitely designed by nature to embody a unique mix of functionalities, including prolific protein production, tissue targeting, and durable engraftment in cellular niches. Be Bio was founded by Longwood Fund in October 2020 with a $52 million Series A investment led by Atlas Ventures and RA Capital, and joined by Alta Partners and Takeda Ventures to unlock this rich biology by precisely engineering B cells as therapies to develop a broad pipeline of potent and potentially curative cellular medicines.

Prior to joining Be Bio as Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Smith-Farrell was Chief Operating Officer and Business Unit Head, Oncology, at bluebird bio, where she led the growth of bluebird Oncology from an early single-candidate effort into a leading oncology cell therapy business. Prior to this, she held executive leadership roles as Chief Business Officer of bluebird bio, Vice President of Transactions at Merck, and Vice President of Business Development at Pfizer, as well as executive positions in public and private biotechs. Prior to entering the biopharmaceutical industry, she worked in the healthcare practice at The Boston Consulting Group. Dr. Smith-Farrell did her postdoctoral research in Biomedical Engineering in Bob Langer’s lab at the Harvard-MIT Division for Health Science and Technology and holds a Ph.D. in Physics from The Catholic University of America and a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University.

“Be Bio’s mission – to unleash the power of B cells, nature’s protein factories, on many of humanity’s most challenging diseases – is an inspiring and humbling journey to be joining,” said Dr. Smith-Farrell. “It has been a great privilege to participate in the birth of the first generation of cell therapies to come to market, and to witness, first-hand, cell therapy’s power to transform the lives of patients with devastating diseases. Be Bio’s aspiration, fueled by the broad utility of engineered B cell medicines to offer previously impossible solutions across a wide array of therapeutic areas, takes the potential of cell therapy to an entirely new level.”

Rick Morgan, Ph.D., joins Be Bio as Chief Scientific Officer, and brings decades of experience as one of the pioneers of cell and gene therapy. Most recently, Dr. Morgan was Senior Vice President of Immunogenetics at Editas Medicine, where he focused on genome engineering to produce off-the-shelf cell medicines for cancer. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Immunotherapy at bluebird bio in 2013, where he led pre-clinical activities for bluebird’s first oncology medicine, the anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel)—the first CAR-T for the treatment of multiple myeloma filed in the U.S. and Europe. He started his career at the National Institutes of Health, where he conducted groundbreaking research in the development of gene therapy for genetic diseases such as hemophilia, HIV/AIDS, and cancer immunotherapy. He was a member of the team that published the first approved human gene transfer experiment in 1990, and was also the first to report the successful use of T-cell receptor gene therapy for the treatment of cancer in 2006.

“By exploiting the intrinsic drug-like properties of B cells, we can make redosable medicines with superior pharmacokinetic profiles that can be administered without toxic conditioning regimens,” said Dr. Morgan. “Be Bio’s ability to engineer B cells is a true paradigm shift in gene therapy that creates major opportunities to treat diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, infectious disease, and protein deficiencies. As CSO, I am excited to have the rare opportunity to shape the development of a new class of medicine from the very start.”

“Extraordinary science attracts extraordinary leaders,” said David Steinberg, Longwood General Partner, Director and and outgoing Chief Executive Officer, Be Bio. “For over 25 years, Dr. Smith-Farrell has been leading teams that are committed to conquering cancer and rare diseases, most recently at bluebird bio where she built a 400 person oncology cell therapy business unit. We are very fortunate to have her joining alongside Dr. Morgan, an internationally recognized trailblazer in cell and gene therapy and a member of an elite group of scientists who have successfully developed these groundbreaking medicines. Together, Joanne and Rick will be invaluable to Be Bio as they lead our efforts to unlock the potential of B cell medicines, bringing transformational therapies to patients in need.”

About Be Biopharma

Be Biopharma is a leader in developing B cells as medicines, treating disease with the human body’s native protein factories. We precisely engineer B cells to harness their intrinsic drug-like properties – remarkable protein production, selective tissue targeting, and fine control of their cellular environment – to forge a new category of cell therapy. These medicines are designed to be durable, re-dosable and administered without toxic conditioning, creating new avenues to halt or reverse severe diseases like cancer, autoimmune conditions, and enzyme deficiency. Founded by Longwood Fund and B cell engineering pioneers David Rawlings, M.D., and Richard James, Ph.D., Be Biopharma is re-imagining medicine based on the power of B cell therapy. For more information, please visit Be Biopharma.

Contacts

Rob Kloppenburg
media@bebiopharma.com
617-930-5595

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Be Biopharma (“Be Bio”), a leader in developing B cells as medicines, founded by Longwood Fund, David Rawlings, MD, and Richard James, PhD, today announced a $52 million Series A financing led by Atlas Venture and RA Capital Management and joined by Alta Partners, Longwood Fund and Takeda Ventures, Inc. The company plans to use this funding to precisely engineer B cells to treat a range of diseases, building on the pioneering work of Drs. Rawlings and James at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. B cells are prolific protein producers that can be collected from peripheral blood, have a programmable lifetime that could last decades, can target specific tissues, and have broad, customizable functionality.

“Be Bio is capitalizing on the unique attributes of B cells to create a new category of medicine that is distinct from traditional cell or gene therapy,” said David Steinberg, Chief Executive Officer, co-founder and Director, Be Biopharma and General Partner, Longwood Fund. “B cells can be engineered to express a wide variety of proteins, have the potential to generate durable responses, and can be dose-titrated and administered multiple times without the need for toxic preconditioning. Moreover, the varied functions of B cells suggest that B cell medicines can address a range of conditions including autoimmune diseases, cancer, and monogenic disorders, as well as enhance the immune response to infectious pathogens. We believe Be Bio is at the forefront of a new approach to fighting disease.”

“B cells play a key role in combatting diseases by catalyzing humoral immunity – the arm of the immune system that manufactures large quantities of proteins to neutralize disease-causing pathogens and manipulate immune cell behavior,” said Be Biopharma co-founder David Rawlings, MD, Director, Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies, Seattle Children’s Research Institute and Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. “Today, this powerful part of the immune system is only passively and/or indirectly addressed therapeutically. Our ambition is to advance the field by building a new class of engineered B cell medicines that will provide direct control over the power of humoral immunity and help transform the prognosis for patients who currently have limited treatment options.”

In addition to Rawlings, James and Steinberg, Be Bio’s co-founders are Aleks Radovic-Moreno, PhD, President and Director, and Lea Hachigian, PhD, with Longwood Fund. The Board of Directors also includes Josh Resnick, MD, MBA, Managing Director, RA Capital Management; Jason Rhodes, Partner, Atlas Venture; and Dan Janney, MBA, Managing Partner, Alta Partners.

Be Biopharma’s Scientific Advisory Board consists of David Rawlings MD; Richard James, PhD, Principal Investigator, Seattle Children’s Research Institute and Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, as well as Frances Eun-Hyung Lee, MD, an Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology physician and researcher in Atlanta, GA; Shiv Pillai, MD, PhD, Professor, Harvard Medical School, Investigator Ragon Institute, Director, Autoimmune Center of Excellence, Massachusetts General Hospital; and Jason Cyster, PhD, Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco.

About Be Biopharma

Be Biopharma is a leader in developing B cells as medicines, treating disease with the human body’s native protein factories. We precisely engineer B cells to harness their intrinsic drug-like properties – remarkable protein production, selective tissue targeting, and fine control of their cellular environment – to forge a new category of cell therapy. These medicines are designed to be durable, re-dosable and administered without toxic conditioning, creating new avenues to halt or reverse severe diseases like cancer, autoimmune conditions, and enzyme deficiency. Founded by Longwood Fund and B cell engineering pioneers David Rawlings, MD, and Richard James, PhD, Be Biopharma is re-imagining medicine based on the power of B cell therapy (bebiopharma.com).

Contacts

Media
Rob Kloppenburg
media@bebiopharma.com
617-930-5595