Over the past 6 months, Laverock has made significant progress in advancing our programmable gene control platform. We have successfully extended our seed round to £20M, enabling us to deepen in vivo and in vitro validation of our technology and accelerate product development.
We are also pleased to announce the appointment of Natalia Novac to the board, during this key time for the company. Natalia brings extensive experience across business development, company building and venture capital through her roles at Merck, Eli Lilly and Delin Ventures.
Corporate updates from last 6 months
- £20M seed extension completed, strengthening our runway into 2027 and accelerating platform and product development.
- Platform validation achieved – in vivo and in vitro data confirm programmable, tunable and multiplex gene silencing through endogenous miRNA editing.
- Partnering traction – active discussions underway for our CAR-T platform following strong efficacy and safety data.
- Breakthrough in self-regulated CAR expression in T cells – demonstrated auto-regulated expression control. Can be combined with checkpoint pathway modulation to increase persistence, reduce exhaustion and improvesafety.
- Expansion beyond oncology – application of programmable macrophage control platform in inflammatory disease/fibrosis. Development of in vivo gene silencing for metabolic disease.
- Preparing for Series A in 2026 – product strategy, partnership and investment proposition in place to deliver on the next phase of our growth.
Our ambition is to build a product pipeline enabled by programmable, tunable and multiplex control of gene expression capable of being disease or cell state responsive, allowing us to address diseases that cannot be optimally treated through conventional gene knock-out or editing.
Having validated our approach in ex vivo oncology, our CAR-T platform is now under active partnering discussions while we expand our focus to fibrosis, metabolic and genetic diseases.
Platform and pipeline updates – key validation of our differentiated technology and product development strategy
- CAR-T Specific Gene Control – Self-regulating CAR expression to prevent T cell exhaustion, enhancing persistence and safety without additional editing or exogenous control agents, equally applicable to ex vivo and in vivo CAR-T.
- Checkpoint Pathway Autoregulation – Programmable, tunable and multiplex checkpoint silencing specifically in activated CAR-T cells, with no silencing in resting cells. Increased tumour control compared to checkpoint pathway knockout, decreased exhaustion and greater persistence, increased T memory compartment. Improved safety profile, reducing risk of adverse events.
- Macrophage Polarisation Control – Programmable control of iPSC-derived macrophage phenotype, along with regulated payload delivery. Application in oncology and fibrosis (e.g. Liver/IPF) settings. Clinical development plan initiated in HNSCC as lead program.
- Pipeline Expansion – Development of in vivo silencing approaches where the programmable and tunable silencing of multiple gene targets through a single editing event would confer a significant advantage over current gene editing and siRNA approaches. We are exploring product concepts that enable the multiplexed, simultaneous, silencing of pre-validated targets in metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and certain neurological conditions.
Natalia Novac, said: “I have been impressed by the Laverock leadership team from the very start of the company and am pleased to join the board as independent director. Laverock’s unique platform of tunable and multiplex gene silencing is applicable in in vivo CAR-T and beyond. I look forward to work with this amazing Team to maximise value of Laverock platform and establish a differentiated therapeutic pipeline addressing areas of high unmet need across oncological and autoimmune indications.”
David Venables, CEO of Laverock, said: “We are excited to provide this update on our progress at Laverock and to welcome Natalia to the board during this important period for the company. She brings extensive experience in drug development, commercialisation and venture building, and will play a key role in supporting our transition to a product focused organisation.”
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Laverock Therapeutics
Notes to Editors
About Laverock Therapeutics
Laverock Therapeutics is powering the development of disease-responsive advanced therapies through our unique, programmable gene control technology. Our innovative platform harnesses the cell’s natural regulatory mechanisms to deliver programmable and tunable gene control through recoded miRNAs. This enables the development of highly effective medicines with enhanced precision and improved safety profiles.
Utilising our platform technologies, we are working to develop the next-generation of advanced therapies, both through our own pipeline – targeting oncology and genetic medicine – and through partnerships.
Laverock has a highly experienced leadership team with proven track records in biotechnology, pharma and academia and an exceptionally strong Board. Laverock has raised more than £20m seed funding to date from high-calibre investors including Calculus Capital, EliLilly and Company, Mercia Ventures, Maven Capital Partners, Eos Advisory, UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, Tekfen Ventures and Norcliffe Capital.
For more information, please visit www.laverocktx.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
