LIfT BioSciences Ltd receives €12m for clinical translation of IMANs

The DTIF grant will finance preclinical studies aimed at advancing LIfT’s IMANs into first-in-human trials scheduled for the second quarter of 2026. Unlike natural killer (NK) cell therapies, which have already entered advanced clinical testing in oncology, IMANs are differentiated from stem cells (haemapeotic/ipSCs) and engineered to be a tivated by multiple signals found in solid tumours. Globally, only LIfT and two US-based companies—Neutrolis Therapeutics, (liquidated NexImmune) and Almaviva Bio—are developing such neutrophil-based therapies, which are a relatively new field in the US$1.3 tr cancer immunotherapy market.

LIfT’s neutrophils, derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), are activated antigen-independently within the tumour microenvironment through simultaneous engagement of five receptors on their surface: interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interferon alpha, cancer cytokine receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2, Toll-like receptors, and Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs). These IMANs can infiltrate tumour stroma without being deactivated by cancer-derived signals and eliminate tumour cells by harnessing innate immune mechanisms. Preclinical data from LIfT demonstrate that IMANs prevent tumour immune evasion, a process responsible for over 90% of cancer-related deaths.

LIfT highlights a further advantage over established immunotherapies in terms of manufacturing costs. Following scale-up, the cost of producing allogeneic IMANs is expected to be somewhat higher than checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab, but substantially lower than chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) or NK cell therapies.

The €12m award represents the largest single grant ever given by DTIF. It is granted to a consortium led by LIfT in collaboration with the University of Galway and Hooke Bio. The University of Galway contributes expertise in cell therapy development, clinical research and good manufacturing practice (GMP)-compliant allogeneic neutrophil production. Hooke Bio provides an immuno-analytics platform designed to improve response rate assessment. Combining IMANs with CAR-T cell therapies has been shown to increase response rates tenfold, although this approach negates the cost advantage of IMAN monotherapy.

The funding will support an investigator-initiated dose-escalation clinical trial evaluating the feasibility and safety of IMAN therapy in patients with metastatic cervical cancer or head and neck tumours who have exhausted all standard treatments. In the subsequent Phase Ib expansion, a larger patient cohort will receive IMANs combined with checkpoint inhibitors.

DTIF is a €500 million challenge-based fund established under Project Ireland 2040 and forms part of the National Development Plan (2018–2027). It is managed by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

LIfT plans to announce an expansion of its £10m Series A financing round shortly.