Synthekine

About Synthekine

Synthekine is a biotechnology company focused on the development of engineered cytokine therapeutics designed to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. Founded in 2018 by K. Christopher Garcia, Ph.D., a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, the company's scientific foundation is built upon his extensive research into the structural biology of cytokines and their receptors. Garcia's work in resolving the 3D structures of numerous cytokine-receptor complexes has provided the insights to engineer these signaling proteins to be more selective, enhancing their therapeutic effects while minimizing toxicities. The company launched publicly in September 2020 with an $82 million Series A financing.

The core of Synthekine's business is its proprietary protein engineering platforms, which create modified cytokines with specific therapeutic actions. This approach addresses a long-standing challenge in medicine: naturally occurring cytokines are pleiotropic, meaning they can act on many different cell types and trigger a wide range of both beneficial and harmful effects. Synthekine designs cytokine partial agonists that are 'tuned' to activate specific immune cell pathways, thereby separating therapeutic efficacy from dose-limiting toxicities. The company's business model involves advancing its own pipeline of drug candidates through clinical trials and forming strategic partnerships with larger pharmaceutical companies for co-development and commercialization. A notable collaboration is a worldwide agreement with Sanofi to develop IL-10 receptor agonists for inflammatory diseases, which included a $40 million upfront payment to Synthekine.

Synthekine's pipeline includes several programs at various stages of development. Its lead immuno-oncology candidate, STK-012, is a selective partial agonist of Interleukin-2 (IL-2) designed to activate tumor-fighting T-cells without the severe side effects of existing IL-2 therapies. Another key program combines STK-009, an orthogonal IL-2 ligand, with SYNCAR-001, a CD19-targeting CAR-T cell therapy. This system is designed to selectively boost the activity and persistence of the CAR-T cells in the body, potentially leading to more durable responses in cancer patients. Beyond oncology, the company is exploring treatments for inflammatory and metabolic diseases with candidates like an IL-22 partial agonist. These programs are supported by substantial venture capital funding, including a $107.5 million Series B in 2021 and a $100 million Series C in 2023, enabling the advancement of its lead programs into clinical trials.