Versant's Century Aims For Off-The-Shelf Cancer Cell Therapies

Century Therapeutics debuted on 1 July with $250m in backing for its strategy to develop off-the-shelf cell therapies for cancer using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), an approach it says will give it technological advantages over much of the cell therapy field. Leaps by Bayer – Bayer AG's venture capital arm – provided $215m in funding, with Versant Ventures and technology partner Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics Inc. kicking in the remainder.

Versant founded the company with seed funding in 2018, followed shortly thereafter by a deal with Fujifilm that gives Century exclusive access to immune effector cell-differentiation protocols and intellectual property that will enable it to manufacture its cell therapies at commercial scale