Dispatch Bio Launches to Deliver Universal Treatment Across Solid Tumors with Novel Immunotherapy Approach

Business Wire

14 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dispatch Bio announced its official launch today, with a mission to engineer a universal treatment across solid tumors, which represent approximately 90% of cancers worldwide.
Immunotherapies have struggled to effectively treat solid tumors due to two main challenges: the lack of a tumor-specific target and the presence of an immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment. Dispatch's first-in-class Flare platform was specifically engineered to overcome both. It works by delivering a viral vector carrying a novel, universal antigen – called Flare – that precisely tags solid tumor cells while simultaneously breaking down the tumor's inhibitory environment. Once in place, the Flare antigen acts as a beacon, directing the immune system to find and clear the cancer cells — without harming healthy tissue.
'At Dispatch, we are leveraging the ideal tumor target – one that is only expressed by the tumor cells in a patient – and advances in cell therapy engineering and immune system activation at the right place, at the right time, to get to deep and durable responses in cancer,' said Sabah Oney, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Dispatch. 'This work matters deeply to me, as it does to so many whose lives have been touched by cancer. We've built a strong scientific foundation, assembled an exceptional team and developed innovative technology that give us a real shot at making a difference. We are fully committed to doing everything we can for patients who urgently need new options.'
Dispatch was established through a pivotal collaboration with the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) and convergence of groundbreaking technologies from the laboratories of Andy Minn, M.D., Ph.D.; Carl June, M.D.; Chris Garcia, Ph.D.; and Kole Roybal, Ph.D.
'With this confluence of innovative technologies from the labs across PICI, we are poised to shift how cancer therapies are conceived,' said Sean Parker, founder and chairman of PICI, as well as a member of Dispatch's board of directors. "We can now pursue the ultimate goal – a universal cure for most solid tumor cancers – using cutting-edge modalities.'
Renowned Leadership and Pioneering Scientists
Since its founding in 2022, Dispatch has focused on building a world-class leadership team and executing its broad pipeline of programs. The founding team at Dispatch includes:
Scientific Co-Founders
Andy Minn, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Immuno-Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Carl June, M.D., PICI Center Director and the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Chris Garcia, Ph.D., Professor of Structural Biology and Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University
Kole Roybal, Ph.D., PICI Center Director and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at University of California, San Francisco
Board of Directors
Jeff Marrazzo, Chairman; Co-founder and Former CEO, Spark Therapeutics
Jake Bauer, Venture Partner, ARCH Venture Partners
John Connolly, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, PICI
Robert Nelsen, Co-founder and Managing Director, ARCH Venture Partners
Sabah Oney, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Dispatch
Sean Parker, Founder and Chairman, PICI
Steve Gillis, Ph.D., Managing Director, ARCH Venture Partners
Leadership Team
Sabah Oney, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer
Barbra Sasu, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer
Chris Wiwi, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Technical Operations
Jennifer Flaisher, Chief People and Culture Officer
Lex Johnson, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Platform Officer
Naveen Bazaj, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development
Scientific Advisory Board
Kole Roybal, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco; SAB Chairman
Andy Minn, M.D., Ph.D., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Antoni Ribas, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Anusha Kalbasi, M.D., Stanford University
Brad Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Carl June, M.D., University of Pennsylvania
Chris Garcia, Ph.D., Stanford University
Christine Brown, Ph.D., City of Hope
David Kirn, M.D., 4D Molecular Therapeutics; University of California, Berkeley
John Connolly, Ph.D., PICI
Kristen Hege, M.D., University of California, San Francisco
Lisa Coussens, M.D., Ph.D., FAACR, Oregon Health & Science University
Matt Porteus, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University
Series A Funding to Support First-in-Human Studies
The Series A syndicate includes founding investors ARCH Venture Partners and PICI, along with Bristol Myers Squibb, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Alexandria Venture Investments. With this recently closed funding round, Dispatch has raised a total of $216 million to date.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the company's therapeutic candidates into first-in-human clinical studies and beyond, with the first program expected to enter the clinic in 2026.
'We are on the wave of a revolution in cancer therapy, where innovations like Dispatch's tumor-agnostic approach to immunotherapy have the potential to treat a majority of solid tumors,' said Steve Gillis, Ph.D., board member of Dispatch and managing director at ARCH Venture Partners. 'We are excited to support the Dispatch team as they continue to advance their programs.'
About Dispatch Bio
Established in 2022, Dispatch Bio was founded with a bold purpose: to help create a world where all cancer patients can be cured. To achieve this, the company is engineering a universal treatment across solid tumors, leveraging its first-in-class Flare platform. This novel approach combines the strengths of immunotherapy with a tumor-specific viral vector, both engineered to clear tumor cells with precision and power. Dispatch has operations in Philadelphia and San Francisco, with access to world-class researchers. To learn more, visit www.dispatchbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.
About the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI)
The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization driving the next generation of cancer treatment by accelerating the development of breakthrough immune therapies to turn all cancers into curable diseases. Founded in 2016 through the vision of Sean Parker, PICI unites the nation's top cancer centers into a collaborative consortium that fuels high-risk, high-reward science with shared goals, data, and infrastructure. Unlike traditional research models, PICI goes beyond discovery by actively advancing promising innovations through clinical testing, company formation and incubation, and commercialization. PICI has supported more than 1,000 investigators across its network and has a portfolio that includes 17 biotech ventures with over $4B raised in capital. PICI is uniquely positioned to close the gap between scientific discovery and patient access. By integrating scientific excellence with entrepreneurial execution, PICI is reimagining how cures are made, and accelerating their path to the people who need them most. Learn more at www.parkerici.org.
About ARCH Venture Partners
ARCH Venture Partners creates and invests in groundbreaking life science and technology companies. 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.