What Obsidian Therapeutics does

Obsidian Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapies for advanced solid tumors. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a manufacturing and process development facility in Bedford, Massachusetts, the company employs 101–250 people. Its lead product candidate, OBX-115 (also referenced as cytoTIL15), is an autologous TIL cell therapy armored with pharmacologically regulatable membrane-bound IL15 (mbIL15), designed to eliminate the need for toxic high-dose IL2 co-administration and to enable outpatient-compatible low-dose lymphodepletion. OBX-115 is currently in Phase 2 development for advanced melanoma refractory to immune checkpoint inhibitors and Phase 1 development for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The company's core technology is the proprietary cytoDRiVE platform, which leverages drug responsive domains (DRDs) to enable precise, small-molecule-controlled regulation of therapeutic protein expression in engineered cell therapies. OBX-115 has received both FDA Fast Track Designation (July 2024) and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) Designation (September 2024) for advanced melanoma, supporting a planned single-arm accelerated approval pathway. Phase 2 data presented at ASCO 2026 reported a 67% objective response rate at the recommended Phase 2 dose (n=10/15), with no dose-limiting toxicities, no ICANS, no ICU transfers, and no treatment-related mortality.

Obsidian is pre-revenue, with revenue model dependent on future commercial product sales following regulatory approval. Distribution today is conducted entirely through multicenter clinical trials at major U.S. cancer centers (Memorial Sloan Kettering, MD Anderson, Brown Cancer Center). The company has raised approximately $325 million across Series A ($49.5M in 2017), Series B ($115M in 2021), and Series C ($160.5M in 2024), and in April 2026 announced a definitive all-stock merger with Galera Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GRTX) accompanied by a $350 million concurrent private placement financing, intended to take the combined company public on Nasdaq under the ticker OBX in Q3 2026 and to fund operations into the second half of 2028. Strategic partnerships include Bristol Myers Squibb (CD40L cell therapy license exercised 2020), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (gene editing collaboration, 2021), and MD Anderson Cancer Center (cytoTIL co-development).

Name

Obsidian Therapeutics

Legal name

Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://obsidiantx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Obsidian Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapies for advanced solid tumors, with lead candidate OBX-115 in Phase 2 for melanoma and Phase 1 for NSCLC using its proprietary cytoDRiVE platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineered Cell Therapy

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

CAR-T & TCR-T Therapies (HLAAABAC)

Keywords

• Engineered cell therapy
• Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes
• Cell and gene therapy
• Biopharmaceutical development
• Adoptive immunotherapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical development: Pre-revenue clinical-stage company developing engineered TIL cell therapies. Revenue will be generated from product sales upon regulatory approval. The company is not currently generating revenue from product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Obsidian Therapeutics develops engineered tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapies for solid tumors using its proprietary cytoDRiVE® platform, which leverages drug responsive domains (DRDs) and FDA-approved small molecules to control therapeutic protein expression. Its lead clinical candidate, OBX-115 (cytoTIL15), is an autologous TIL therapy armored with pharmacologically regulatable membrane-bound IL15 (mbIL15) that eliminates the need for toxic high-dose IL2 and is compatible with outpatient low-dose lymphodepletion. OBX-115 is currently in Phase 2 for advanced melanoma and Phase 1 for NSCLC.

Product overview

Obsidian Therapeutics is developing a pipeline of engineered tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapies for solid tumors. The company's proprietary cytoDRiVE® platform enables drug-responsive control of protein function using FDA-approved small molecules. Lead product OBX-115 (cytoTIL15) is an IL2-sparing engineered TIL therapy with regulatable membrane-bound IL15, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for advanced melanoma and Phase 1 for non-small cell lung cancer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OBX-115 (cytoTIL15) Genetically engineered autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapy armored with pharmacologically regulatable membrane-bound IL15 (mbIL15) for patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma refractory to PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors, with expansion into NSCLC. The therapy eliminates the need for toxic high-dose IL2 co-administration, enables outpatient-compatible low-dose lymphodepletion, and is compatible with minimally invasive core needle biopsy tumor procurement.
• cytoDRiVE® Platform Proprietary drug-responsive protein control platform leveraging drug responsive domains (DRDs) and FDA-approved small molecules to enable precise regulation of the timing and level of therapeutic protein expression in cell therapies. Licensed to Bristol Myers Squibb for a CD40L-expressing cell therapy candidate and used in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals for drug-responsive gene editing therapies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67% objective response rate at RP2D in advanced melanoma (n=15, Phase 2 data January 2026)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Galera TherapeuticsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 April 2026Obsidian and Galera entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction. The combined company will operate as Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc. and trade on Nasdaq under ticker symbol OBX. Concurrent private placement financing of $350 million from institutional investors. Transaction expected to close Q3 2026 subject to stockholder and regulatory approvals.
• MD Anderson Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2020Strategic collaboration to accelerate advancement of novel engineered tumor infiltrating lymphocyte therapy (cytoTIL) for solid tumors. MD Anderson conducted the first-in-human single-center Phase 1 clinical trial of OBX-115 (NCT05470283).
• CelgeneminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 January 2019Strategic collaboration to develop novel cell therapies with tunable immunomodulatory factors, opening potential for CAR-T and other cellular medicines in new settings. Note: Celgene was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2019.
• Bristol Myers SquibbcoreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic collaboration established January 2019 for development of novel cell therapies using tunable immunomodulatory factors. Bristol Myers Squibb exercised option in September 2020 to an exclusive worldwide license to a cell therapy candidate based on Obsidian's cytoDRiVE technology for controlled expression of CD40L. Obsidian eligible for potential future milestone and royalty payments.
• Vertex PharmaceuticalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration established April 2021 to discover novel therapies that regulate gene editing using Obsidian's cytoDRiVE platform technology.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Iovance Biotherapeutics: Iovance is the leader in TIL therapy with FDA-approved lifileucel for advanced melanoma. Both companies develop autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapies for solid tumors, making Iovance Obsidian's most direct competitor and benchmark for commercial scale-up.
• Lyell Immunopharma: Lyell is developing next-generation TIL therapies enhanced with genetic modifications to improve T-cell persistence and resistance to exhaustion, directly comparable to Obsidian's mbIL15-armored OBX-115 approach in solid tumor indications.
• Adaptimmune: Adaptimmune develops engineered T-cell receptor (TCR-T) therapies for solid tumors including MAGE-A4 targeted therapies. It is comparable as a cell therapy company pursuing solid tumor indications with genetically modified autologous T-cells.
• Poseida Therapeutics: Poseida develops non-viral, piggyBac-engineered autologous and allogeneic CAR-T therapies. Comparable as a clinical-stage engineered T-cell therapy company pursuing solid and hematologic malignancies with proprietary platform technology.

Broad incumbents

• Bristol Myers Squibb: BMS is both an Obsidian partner (licensed cytoDRiVE-based CD40L program) and a broader competitor in cell therapy with approved CAR-T products (Breyanzi, Abecma). It is a relevant comparable as an established cell therapy company and strategic counterparty.
• Sana Biotechnology: Sana is developing ex vivo and in vivo cell therapies across multiple modalities including engineered T-cells, iPSC-derived cells, and fusogen-mediated delivery. Comparable as a cell therapy company with broad platform reach that overlaps with Obsidian's engineered T-cell focus.

Emerging players

• Allogene Therapeutics: Allogene is developing allogeneic 'off-the-shelf' CAR-T therapies for hematologic and solid tumor malignancies. It is comparable as a clinical-stage cell therapy company working on next-generation engineered T-cell platforms with a different manufacturing paradigm than Obsidian's autologous approach.
• Cellectis: Cellectis is a clinical-stage gene editing and cell therapy company developing allogeneic CAR-T and TCR-based therapies. It is comparable to Obsidian as a cell therapy innovator working on engineered T-cell platforms with proprietary genome-editing capabilities.
• CRISPR Therapeutics: CRISPR Therapeutics is a clinical-stage gene editing company developing CRISPR/Cas9-edited cell therapies including ex vivo and in vivo approaches. Comparable as a next-generation cell therapy developer using proprietary platform technology to engineer therapeutic cells.
• Century Therapeutics: Century is developing iPSC-derived allogeneic cell therapies engineered with multiple modalities to enhance persistence and efficacy. Comparable as a clinical-stage engineered cell therapy company using innovative platform approaches to address oncology indications.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/obsidian-therapeutics
• Xx.com/obsidian_tx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors37 records

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M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Obsidian Therapeutics