Leucid Bio
London-based clinical-stage biotech developing next-generation CAR-T therapies on its proprietary Lateral CAR platform.
Last updated September 28, 2026
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Overview
Leucid Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations based at Guy's Hospital. The company was founded in 2014 to translate roughly two decades of pioneering Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) research led by Dr John Maher at King's College London (KCL). Its mission is to develop next-generation CAR-T therapies using its proprietary Lateral CAR platform, with the aim of improving treatment outcomes and saving the lives of patients with refractory cancers. The scientific foundation of Leucid Bio is the Lateral CAR platform, which builds on Dr Maher's novel CAR-T model. In conventional CAR designs, the key signalling domains are arranged in a linear configuration; Leucid's approach redesigns the CAR structure so that these functional components adopt a more natural biological configuration, positioned laterally next to the plasma membrane — a design philosophy the company describes as 'build out, not down'. According to the company, this recapitulates the lateral distribution of signalling domains observed in natural immune receptors, giving the resulting CAR-T cells properties that consistently outperform previous generations of CAR-T therapies in pre-clinical studies, enhancing T-cell potency and generating persistent long-term responses with reduced toxicity. Leucid Bio's lead asset is LEU011, an autologous Lateral CAR-T targeting NKG2D stress ligands. Because NKG2D ligands are expressed on more than 80% of human tumour cells, the company positions LEU011 as a novel CAR-T with potential application across multiple cancers. The company has announced treatment of the first patient in the AERIAL trial of NKG2D CAR-T therapy LEU011 for solid tumours, marking a clinical-stage milestone. The company is led by industry veterans with deep scientific, clinical and commercial expertise in the CAR-T field, supported by a diverse team with a track record in engineering new chimeric immune receptor systems and translating them to the clinic. Filippo Petti was appointed Chief Executive Officer in July 2023, bringing broad industry expertise across operations, finance and research. Leucid Bio is backed by leading life-science investors including Epidarex, 2Invest, Sofinnova Partners, Vulpes Investment Management and the Future Fund of the British Business Bank. In 2021, the company raised £11.5 million in a Series A financing round. It remains a private, venture-backed company focused on advancing its Lateral CAR pipeline toward clinical development.
History
Leucid Bio was founded in 2014 to translate approximately 20 years of pioneering Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) research led by Dr John Maher at King's College London (KCL). The company's founding premise was to advance a novel CAR-T model developed by Dr Maher, in which the CAR structure is redesigned so that key functional components adopt a more natural biological configuration — moved into their natural position next to the plasma membrane in a lateral, rather than linear, arrangement. The company summarises this design philosophy as 'build out, not down'. Building on this research, Leucid Bio developed its proprietary Lateral CAR platform. According to the company, this platform recapitulates the lateral distribution of signalling domains observed in natural immune receptors, giving the resulting CAR-T cells properties that consistently outperform previous generations of CAR-T therapies in pre-clinical studies — enhancing T-cell potency and generating persistent long-term responses with reduced toxicity. The company's lead asset is LEU011, an autologous Lateral CAR-T targeting NKG2D stress ligands. Because NKG2D ligands are expressed on more than 80% of human tumour cells, Leucid positions LEU011 as a novel CAR-T with potential for treating multiple cancers. Leucid Bio has announced treatment of the first patient in the AERIAL trial of NKG2D CAR-T therapy LEU011 for solid tumours, advancing the programme into the clinic. In 2021, Leucid Bio raised £11.5 million in a Series A financing round. The company is backed by leading life-science investors including Epidarex, 2Invest, Sofinnova Partners, Vulpes Investment Management and the Future Fund of the British Business Bank. In July 2023, Filippo Petti was appointed Chief Executive Officer; he brings broad industry expertise across operations, finance and research. Leucid Bio is headquartered in London, UK, with operations based at Guy's Hospital, and is led by industry veterans with deep scientific, clinical and commercial expertise in the CAR-T field.
- 2023
Filippo Petti appointed Chief Executive Officer in July 2023.
- 2021
Raised £11.5 million in a Series A financing round.
- 2014
Leucid Bio founded to translate Dr John Maher's CAR-T research at King's College London.
Announced treatment of first patient in AERIAL trial of NKG2D CAR-T therapy LEU011 for solid tumours.
Products and positioning
Clinical-stage biotech pursuing a differentiated, next-generation CAR-T approach via its proprietary Lateral CAR platform, targeting refractory cancers.
LEU011
Autologous Lateral CAR-T targeting NKG2D stress ligands, in the AERIAL trial for solid tumours.
Lateral CAR T-Cell Platform
Proprietary CAR-T platform redesigning CAR structure into a lateral configuration to enhance potency and persistence with reduced toxicity.
Recent events
Leucid Bio announces board appointments[4]
Reported:
In conjunction with its Series A financing, Leucid Bio announced Ian Miscampbell’s appointment as Board Chair, Martin Diggle’s appointment as a Non-Executive Director, and Heikki Lanckriet’s appointment as a Board Observer.
Leucid Bio raises £11.5 million Series A[4]
Reported:
Leucid Bio announced that it had raised £11.5 million in a Series A financing round. The company said proceeds would be used to initiate a Phase 1 trial of lead candidate LEU-011.
Sources4 sources
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