Avenge Bio, a cell therapy biotech from Rice, is closed

Cell therapy startup Avenge Bio has shut down, Endpoints News has learned.

Chris Garabedian

The company ceased all operations and sold its lead asset, Xontogeny CEO Chris Garabedian told Endpoints in an email. Xontogeny co-led Avenge Bio’s $45 million Series A in 2022.

Avenge’s website was also updated last month to say the company had “permanently closed.”

The program, called AVB-001, was returned to Rice University, from where Avenge Bio was launched, a spokesperson who represents newco efforts told Endpoints. AVB-001 is expected to be “part of a new company that is launched this month or in September,” the spokesperson added in an email.

Avenge Bio was researching how best to develop cell therapies for solid tumors. AVB-001 was designed to produce IL-2 in order to treat peritoneal cancers such as ovarian cancer. A Phase 1/2 trial had gotten underway in January 2023.