he Brief

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Modulari-T is producing the tools to cure any disease via the MARC platform; starting with a cell therapy that teaches your immune system to attack and cure cancer

Founders

CEO, David White

COO, Stephanie Mok

Y Combinator (W23) Just Launched

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^{David J. Phillips @davj / 3:00 PM PST • January 31, 2023}

The big promise of cell and gene therapy as a potential cure for any disease has been on the horizon for decades. As time has passed, many organizations and individuals have generously contributed enormous amounts of time, resources, and effort to reach this lofty and worthwhile goal. Each new iteration of technology offers more hope than the last, exponentially improving the lives of the most medically-vulnerable in our society.

On a mission to provide the essential tools necessary to fulfill the promise of genuinely curing any pathology, Y Combinator-backed startup Modulari-T has publicly launched today.

Medical innovation has come a long way in all branches of medicine, and Modulari-T looks to be an incredibly promising addition to this legacy. The bioscience company is entering the space at a much-needed time, with many communities in a state of hopelessness due to the lack of medical interventions available for the successful treatment of cancer.

As of now, cell therapy has a low success rate and is challenging to manufacture, resulting in 20 million patients left without hope. Modulari-T possesses the technology to resolve this issue, provide hope to cancer patients, and drive the cell therapy market to expand beyond $50 billion by the end of the decade.

They have constructed a platform to produce a new type of receptor, the Modular Actuation Receptor Complex (MARC), which mimics the modular structure of immune receptors. The MARC platform can be utilized to modify and reprogram immune cells to recognize cancer antigens, lead an immune response directed against tumor cells, and create new stem cells capable of tissue regeneration. Effectively, these modified cells more accurately perceive their environments, equipping them with the attributes required to attack and kill cancer cells.

By integrating their optimized gene sequences within immune cells, they can develop treatments that are twice as potent as chemotherapy while sidestepping 90% of chemo's adverse side effects.

Compared to CAR-T cells, MARCs have double the potency in clearing tumors and avoid inducing immune exhaustion, ensuring a sustained response. The MARC's distinctive architecture enables the technology to link any extracellular cue with the requisite signaling outputs across diverse pathways to attain effective therapeutic success.

Aiming to be "the platform of reference” in the world of cell engineering, Modulari-T is poised to extend its technological influence across all areas of cell therapy. Consisting of a dynamic team of scientists, the Modulari-T team has united the fields of protein engineering, synthetic biology, and immunology to create a powerful world-leading cell programming platform. The oncology field is merely the starting point; the MARC platform can be applied in the areas of autoimmunity, neurology, regenerative medicine, and many more!

How Can You Contribute?

Connect Modulari-T with industry professionals! Are you familiar with individuals in the field of cell therapy or oncology? The Modulari-T team seeks to connect and learn about the challenges faced by academic researchers, biotech and pharmaceutical professionals, or physicians.

Are you a synthetic biologist or immunologist seeking a new opportunity? They're hiring!