Dispatch Bio Launches with $216M and CAR-T Pioneer Carl June to Advance Universal Solid Tumor Immunotherapy

Dispatch Bio has launched out of stealth with $216 million in total funding to develop immunotherapies for solid tumors, which account for about 90% of human cancers1234.

The Series A round was led by ARCH Venture Partners and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), with additional backing from Bristol Myers Squibb, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Alexandria Venture Investments123.

Carl June, a pioneer of CAR-T cell therapy, is a scientific cofounder alongside Chris Garcia, Andy Minn, and Kole Roybal3.

Dispatch Bio’s therapeutic approach uses its proprietary 'Flare' platform—a two-component system where a viral vector tags cancer cells, making them visible to the immune system, and introduces a novel antigen to guide engineered immune cells for targeted attack3.

The company aims to create a 'universal' treatment for solid tumors by enabling the immune system to differentiate between cancerous and healthy tissue and to overcome tumor resistance mechanisms34.

Dispatch Bio plans to file with the FDA for its lead program in the coming weeks, with first-in-human clinical studies expected in 202624.

The company operates in Philadelphia and San Francisco and was founded in 2022234.

Their approach represents a major advance, as most immunotherapies (including CAR-T) have been primarily used for blood cancers, not solid tumors13.

Sources:

1. https://www.axios.com/pro/biotech-deals/2025/07/23/dispatch-bio-216-million-solid-cancer-immunotherapy

2. https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/dispatch-bio-launches-to-deliver-universal-treatment-across-solid-tumors-with-novel-immunotherapy-approach

3. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/cancer-biotech-dispatch-unveils-216m-and-car-t-pioneer-carl-june-cofounder

4. https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/disptach-bio-universal-cancer-immunotherapy-solid-tumors/753743/

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