Laguna: Microbial immunotherapies unlocking innate T cells to transform cancer therapy
Confirmed by founderLaguna has advanced a first-in-class microbial immunotherapy from concept to FDA-cleared Phase 1 clinical study in under 4 years on less than $5M, a benchmark of capital efficiency rarely seen in oncology. Our lead program targets AML, a disease where fewer than 30% of patients survive 5 years and immunotherapy has largely failed. By precisely engineering microbial therapies to orchestrate the full immune system, not just a single pathway, we are moving beyond antibody and engineered cell therapies to precision systems-level approaches designed to generate durable, full-immune-system responses where current immunotherapies fail.
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Jonathan Kotula
founder
AML kills roughly 11,000 Americans annually and has a 5-year survival rate under 30%. Existing checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T therapies have shown minimal efficacy in AML, leaving patients with few options beyond chemotherapy regimens developed decades ago. The global AML treatment market exceeds $5B and is expected to double by 2030, driven almost entirely by the demand for better solutions. Importantly, over 70% of cancer patients, including virtually all with AML and micro-satellite stable colorectal cancer (MSS CRC), see no meaningful benefit from the current immunotherapy revolution. Existing approaches like checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T depend on adaptive immune pathways that these tumors have learned to evade. The result is a massive, underserved patient population with few options and poor survival outcomes.
Laguna engineers live microbial therapies that deliver a precisely tuned combination of immune-activating signals that conventional therapies cannot achieve. Unlike antibodies that target a single checkpoint or CAR-T that requires costly manufacturing, Laguna's platform activates the innate immune system, like γδ T cells, to generate a durable, broad anti-tumor response. This approach is off-the-shelf, manufacturable at low cost, and applicable across multiple tumor types. Our lead program in AML is entering Phase 1 in 2026 with FDA clearance already in hand.
Laguna has raised ~$10M in a priced Seed round from Pac8, SOSV, TVC, and others, which will fund the company through meaningful patient data in their company-sponsored Phase 1 study in AML, which will begin enrolling in Q3 2026. Laguna is raising a $3-5M convertible note (40% committed) to fund clinical expansion into additional indications. This capital is designed to generate significant and additional de-risking clinical data that positions the company for a Series A or strategic partnership at significantly improved terms. Comparable acquisitions include Ipsen/ImCheck ($1.0B, Oct '25), Amgen/Dark Blue ($840M, Jan '26), and BI/T3 Pharma ($500M, Nov '23).
