Massachusetts-based Oblenio Bio, Inc. has closed an oversubscribed USD 62 million Series B financing round to advance LBL-051, its CD19/BCMA/CD3 tri-specific T-cell engager, into first-in-human clinical development for refractory autoimmune diseases. The round positions Oblenio as a single-asset company entering a crowded but well-validated space at a moment of sustained large-pharma deal-making in B-cell depletion therapeutics.
The round was led by Pfizer Ventures, with participation from new investors Deep Track Capital and GV, alongside founding and Series A investor Aditum Bio. In conjunction with the close, Irena Melnikova, Ph.D., Partner at Pfizer Ventures, and Rebecca Luse, Managing Director at Deep Track Capital, have joined Oblenio's Board of Directors. Xiaoqiang Kang, M.D., Ph.D., Founder, Chairman and CEO of China-based Nanjing Leads Biolabs Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 09887), will serve as a Board Observer. Leads Biolabs, which originated LBL-051 using its proprietary LeadsBody platform, holds milestone payments and royalties as the asset advances; Oblenio holds an exclusive global option to license, develop, manufacture, and commercialize LBL-051 worldwide. Aditum Bio, which co-founded Oblenio as a joint venture with Leads Biolabs, confirmed its continued support at the Series B close. Proceeds will fund initiation of a first-in-human proof-of-concept study, which the company said it expects to begin this year.
LBL-051 simultaneously engages three targets: CD19 and BCMA on B cells and plasma cells, and CD3 on T cells. The tri-specific format is designed to deplete a broader range of pathogenic B-cell populations than mono- or bispecific approaches — CD19-directed agents target mature B cells, while BCMA-directed agents reach long-lived plasma cells that are the primary source of pathogenic autoantibodies and are often resistant to anti-CD20 therapies.
The CD19/BCMA/CD3 target combination is shared by several programs in active development. Sanofi licensed KT501, a tri-specific T-cell engager with the same target triad, from Kali Therapeutics in a deal valued at up to USD 1.23 billion. Innovent Biologics has presented preclinical data for IBI3055, another CD19/BCMA/CD3 tri-specific. Oblenio's differentiation argument rests on combining both targets in a single molecule engineered specifically for autoimmune rather than oncology patients, with a preclinical safety profile that the company says avoids cytokine release syndrome.