Versant Ventures commits $30 million to Matterhorn Biosciences

Matterhorn Biosciences AG develops T cell receptor therapies based on the recent discovery of MR1T cells that recognize and kill a wide range of tumors of various tissue origins. Versant has made a $30 million commitment to the new company, which was founded by pioneers in the MR1 field at the University of Basel. Following companies like Monte Rosa Therapeutics and Bright Peak Therapeutics, Matterhorn is the most recent company to be launched out of Versant’s Ridgeline Discovery Engine based in Basel, Switzerland.

While existing T cell receptor (TCR) therapies only recognize peptides in certain cancer patients, MR1T cells universally recognize and target cancer-specific metabolites presented by the MR1 molecule expressed on malignant cells. This is due to broad expression of MR1 over a range of tumor types and its conservation across all patients. MR1 creates the opportunity for pan-cancer-targeting, off-the-shelf T cell therapies.

The company’s scientific founders include:

• Gennaro De Libero, M.D., Professor of Immunology at the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel, Switzerland. His group focuses on adaptive and innate T cells specific for non-peptidic antigens. He is a worldwide leader in the field of MR1T cells. 
• Lucia Mori, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Matterhorn and a faculty member in the Department of Biomedicine and University Hospital of Basel since 1994. Over the past 34 years her work has focused on antigen recognition of TCRs and non-classical T cell immunity.

The Matterhorn founders pioneered work in the MR1 field over the past decade. They first proposed the role of MR1 in cancer immunosurveillance in 2016 and subsequently described the utility of MR1T cells as cancer therapies. The mechanism and specific metabolite antigens that give MR1T cells their broad anti-tumor activity spectrum have now been elucidated. These insights provided a practical starting point for drug discovery in the field.

“It is gratifying to see the work that started 15 years ago now being translated into new therapies,” said Dr. De Libero. “I look forward to working closely with the Matterhorn team to bring these treatments to patients.”

During Matterhorn’s formative phase, the team at the University of Basel will continue to work alongside scientists at Versant’s Ridgeline Discovery Engine to build a platform of MR1-binding metabolites and develop a broad portfolio of TCR therapies. Based on progress to date, Matterhorn expects to start IND-enabling work on its first development candidates during 2020. Phase 1 studies should commence by late 2021.

(Press release / SK)