Peter, could you tell us a bit about yourself and what led you to become the CEO of Kyverna?
I come from a small town in Germany where my upbringing in a pharmacy, serving as a primary care hub for the community, deeply influenced my future career. Interacting daily with patients instilled in me a strong sense of service, guiding me throughout my professional journey. I spent some time at McKinsey, specializing in helping biopharma companies, and later contributed significantly to the growth of Novartis. My tenure at Novartis was marked by a decade of enriching experiences that eventually led me to Silicon Valley. I had the chance to make significant contributions to the field of organ transplantation in my tenure as CEO of CareDx.
My journey took a turn towards investing and supporting start-ups before seeing the potential of Kyverna Therapeutics. At Kyverna, it was evident that the impact of this new technology to treat autoimmune diseases would be huge, and was impending, despite some initial skepticism about its viability.
Kyverna is developing T-cell therapies for autoimmune disease. We often associate such therapies with cancer. Could you elaborate on the innovation of applying T cells to autoimmunity?
Our venture into utilizing T cells for autoimmunity was inspired by the success of monoclonal antibodies in temporarily resetting the immune system, despite their limitation in deeply penetrating tissues. Recognizing the inadequacy of monoclonal antibodies to effectively deplete B cells within tissues, where they actively contribute to autoimmune diseases, we explored the potential of cell therapy.
The inception of our cell therapy approach goes back to 2018, our aim was always to revolutionize the treatment of autoimmune diseases by using the body's T cells. Our focus has been on developing a pipeline that includes rheumatology and neurology, we are also optimistic about applying these T cells to lupus nephritis and multiple sclerosis (MS). At a high level, autoimmune diseases involve the immune system attacking itself. We extract T cells from the patient, genetically re-engineer them, and re-inject them. It reminds me of resetting a computer to get everything back to normal.
Our lead candidate, KYV-101, aims to provide a durable solution to autoimmune diseases through a one-time treatment that potentially resets the immune system, thereby offering a chance to a long-term remission for patients. One remarkable instance involves a patient who suffered from Myasthenia gravis for years and became immobilized in a wheelchair. She received a single dose of KYV-101. Within months, she regained the ability to walk - and she even surpassed her own husband's stamina on a hike recently. All from just one dose.
Let's switch gears briefly and talk about the big news from last month, your stellar IPO. How do you feel about it?
Our IPO was indeed a milestone, and I view it as overwhelmingly positive, especially considering the current bearish sentiment towards biotech. By raising over $300 million, we secured funding for our clinical development pipeline through 2026. This level of financing reflects a balanced and strategic approach, avoiding the pitfalls of excessive capital that characterized the biotech sector and turned off investors in previous years. The IPO's success, which was oversubscribed by a factor of 20, validates our approach and positions us well for the future. Despite the more conservative climate compared to the exuberance of 2021, this outcome confirms investors have confidence in our mission.
These moments, where our science captures widespread attention, present new opportunities. The field is ripe for breakthroughs. Looking ahead, our focus is on increasing the scientific understanding of autoimmunity, identifying the patient populations that are most likely to benefit from our therapies, and expanding our operational capabilities to meet the anticipated demand. Our approach is patient-centric; every day I wake up, my first thoughts are with the patients in our trials. Every single person at this company also cares deeply about the lives we are impacting.
We know that scaling can be challenging and that the mass manufacturing of T cells can also be an obstacle. How do you plan to address this?
Scaling, particularly in the realm of manufacturing, presents a complex challenge, and we’re navigating this. T-cell manufacturing in general is expensive right now, but the costs will come down, just as they did with monoclonal antibodies, the last big breakthrough in autoimmunity.
As a final point, why should readers remember Kyverna Therapeutics?
Kyverna is not about taking an old drug from years gone by and improving it;
Kyverna offers an entirely new mode of therapy using T cells, which has the potential to cure autoimmune diseases. Our mission is to cure all autoimmune diseases and save millions of lives, and it will take decades.
But the early results in patients have been positive, and we have great hope for the future.
