The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬 Multi-Edit CAR T-Cells: The Crazy Science That Might Cure Brain Cancer | Aaron Edwards (Part 4/4)
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Jul 30, 2025 Aaron Edwards, co-founder of KiraGen Bio, shares his journey from a Harvard Business School project to pioneering a multi-edit CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumors. He discusses tackling immune suppression in glioblastoma, leveraging machine learning, and the challenges of fundraising. Edwards emphasizes the importance of discipline, innovative design strategies, and authentic leadership in the biotech space. His insights offer a fresh perspective on overcoming the complexities of brain cancer treatment while navigating the startup landscape.
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KiraGen Origin Story
- Aaron Edwards and co-founder Ryan built KiraGen from a Harvard Business School pitch deck exercise.
- Their backgrounds at Bluebird and Beam shaped their strategy to combat immune suppression in solid tumors.
Contrarian CAR T-Cell Design
- KiraGen developed a multi-edit CAR T-cell to build a suppressive protection layer against tumor immune suppression.
- This counters limitations of prior 1.0 generation therapies that only increased cell potency, unsuitable especially in sensitive areas like the brain.
Multi-Target Suppression Strategy
- Addressing many non-redundant tumor suppression pathways through rationally designed edits is essential to overcoming solid tumor microenvironments.
- Single receptor blockade is insufficient; KiraGen uses clinically validated combinations backed by machine learning for selection.