Proceeds from the financing will be used to accomplish the following:

• Fund the Liberate phase I/II clinical trial of QEL-001, an antigen-specific, multimodular CAR Treg cell therapy candidate designed to prevent organ rejection in liver transplant patients by inducing durable immune tolerance and eliminating the need for lifelong immunosuppression
• Advance Quell's pipeline in the areas of transplantation, neuroinflammatory diseases, and autoimmune disease
• Accelerate development of Quell's autologous, multimodular, engineered Treg platform and further develop its allogeneic CAR Treg platform

"Quell is at the forefront of a new wave of cell therapy," Iain McGill, CEO of Quell Therapeutics, said. "With this financing, we have the full suite of capabilities – capital, cutting-edge science, and a world-class team – to advance our pipeline and platform to key milestones on our path ultimately to deliver potentially transformative therapies to patients suffering from diseases caused by immune dysregulation."

Quell focuses on the use of Tregs, the "master modulators" of immune homeostasis, to create cell therapies designed to suppress immune responses, drive long-term tolerance in the local immune environment, and promote tissue repair.

Quell has developed a proprietary "phenotype-lock" technology, which "locks" Tregs in an immunosuppressive phenotype that enhances their safety, stability, and efficacy, according to the company.

The financing round was led by Jeito Capital, Ridgeback Capital Investments, SV Health Investors, and Fidelity Management & Research Company, with participation from founding investor, Syncona. New investors include British Patient Capital through its Future Fund: Breakthrough program, Janus Henderson Investors, Monashee Investment Management, Point72, and funds managed by Tekla Capital Management.

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