What Kanvas Biosciences does

Kanvas Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) for immuno-oncology, immune-related adverse events, and global health indications. Founded in 2020-2021 and headquartered in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, the company operates a vertically integrated spatial biology and anaerobic manufacturing platform anchored by HiPR-FISH (a high-plex spatial fluorescence in situ hybridization technology exclusively licensed from Cornell University) and ACT (Anaerobic Co-Culture Technology) acquired from Federation Bio in October 2023. The company's proprietary Kanvas Spectral Lightsheet (KSL) microscope enables high-throughput 3D spectral imaging at data acquisition rates reported to be at least 820x faster than commercial platforms, feeding proprietary AI/ML models (including Omnipose-based U-net segmentation) trained on what management describes as the world's largest spatial and functional host-microbiome dataset.

The platform supports four pillars — Characterization, Selection, Manufacturing, and Translation — and feeds a pipeline of rationally designed, defined microbial consortia including KAN-001 (preclinical, checkpoint-naïve and refractory cancers, co-developed with MD Anderson PRIME-TR), KAN-003 (preclinical, ICI-naïve cancers), KAN-004 (Phase 1, ICI-induced colitis at CRCHUM, First Patient In March 2026), and KAN-007 (Discovery, environmental enteric dysfunction with the Gates Foundation). Kanvas has demonstrated the ability to manufacture complex consortia of up to 148 bacterial strains reproducibly at scale (5L to 250L) in its ~4,000 sq ft GMP facility in South San Francisco, supplemented by a Princeton, NJ GMP suite.

The business combines a proprietary drug-development pipeline with a fee-for-service CDMO offering: Kanvas markets fully anaerobic GMP manufacturing and analytical services (microbial enumeration, strain-resolved viability, low-biomass detection, microbiome spatial mapping, strain-resolved metagenomic tracking) to external biotech and pharmaceutical clients developing LBPs, with GMP slots available from Q3 2026. Total capital raised is approximately $78M across a $12M Pre-Series A (June 2023, led by DCVC), a $12.5M extension (July 2024, co-led by DCVC and Lions Capital), and a $48M Series A (May 2026, co-led by DCVC and Lions Capital, with Gates Foundation participation). The company is pre-revenue on therapeutic products, has 11-50 employees, and sells into pharmaceutical/biotech CDMO clients and academic medical center partners including MD Anderson, CRCHUM, Cornell, and the Gates Foundation.

Name

Kanvas Biosciences

Legal name

Kanvas Biosciences, Inc.

Website

https://kanvasbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kanvas Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotech that maps host-microbiome interactions using proprietary HiPR-FISH spatial imaging and manufactures defined live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) for immuno-oncology, ICI-induced colitis, and global health indications, while offering anaerobic GMP CDMO services to biotech and pharma clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Microbiome Therapeutics

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs) (HLAAAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Microbiome Manufacturing, Formulation & Delivery Technologies (encapsulation, spores, oral delivery) (HLAAAFAJ), Engineered Microbial Therapeutics (synthetic biology, gene circuits) (HLAAAFAD), Microbiome Analytics, Sequencing & Bioinformatics Platforms (HLAAAFAI)

Keywords

• Microbiome therapeutics discovery
• Live biotherapeutic products
• Spatial biology platform
• GMP microbial manufacturing
• Microbiome CDMO services

Headquarters

HQ city

Monmouth Junction

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. CDMO Services (Anaerobic Microbial Fermentation): Revenue stream from contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services for live biotherapeutic products (LBPs). Provides fully anaerobic GMP manufacturing for Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical programs and GLP toxicology studies. Also offers standalone analytical services (microbial enumeration, strain-resolved viability, low-biomass microbial detection, microbiome spatial mapping, strain-resolved metagenomic tracking). Batch sizes up to 250L. GMP slots available beginning Q3 2026.
2. Professional Services / Discovery Partnerships: Revenue from discovery partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies seeking to better understand the microbiome and its role in disease and drug candidates. Includes spatial mapping services, microbial enumeration, metagenomic analysis, and analytical development using proprietary HiPR-FISH and related platforms.
3. Future Therapeutic Product Sales (Pre-revenue): Currently pre-revenue on proprietary drug products. Lead drug KAN-001 entering Phase 1; KAN-004 in Phase 1 for ICI-induced colitis; KAN-007 in Discovery in partnership with Gates Foundation for environmental enteric dysfunction. Future revenue expected from commercialization of these live biotherapeutic products targeting immuno-oncology and global health indications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Kanvas Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) using a vertically-integrated platform combining proprietary spatial biology imaging (HiPR-FISH) with anaerobic co-culture manufacturing (ACT). The company also offers GMP microbial CDMO manufacturing services to external biotech and pharma partners, and conducts discovery and research partnerships with pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer.

Product overview

Kanvas Biosciences operates a single unified spatial biology platform that vertically integrates four pillars—Characterization (HiPR-FISH spatial imaging of host-microbiome interactions), Selection (strain isolation, genomic and empirical screening, community building), Manufacturing (ACT™ anaerobic co-culture technology at industrial scale, operationalized in a ~4,000 sq ft GMP facility in South San Francisco), and Translation (metabolomic profiling, strain engraftment, host biomarker analysis). The platform feeds an in-house pipeline of live biotherapeutic product candidates—KAN-001 (checkpoint naïve and refractory cancers, preclinical with MD Anderson), KAN-003 (ICI-naïve cancers), KAN-004 (checkpoint-induced colitis, Phase 1 at CRCHUM), and KAN-007 (environmental enteric dysfunction with the Gates Foundation)—and is also offered to external clients as a fully anaerobic GMP microbial fermentation CDMO service with batch sizes up to 250 L.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kanvas Spatial Biology Platform A vertically-integrated spatial biology platform combining HiPR-FISH high-resolution spatial microbiome imaging, AI/ML hyperspectral image analysis, ACT anaerobic co-culture manufacturing, and the proprietary KSL microscope to discover, develop, and manufacture live biotherapeutic products. Used internally by Kanvas's pipeline teams and offered to external partners via discovery and research collaborations.
• Kanvas CDMO Manufacturing Services GMP-grade contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services for live biotherapeutic products, engineered microbial therapies, and complex anaerobic co-culture manufacturing processes, operated from the company's GMP facility in South San Francisco, California. Offered to biotech and pharmaceutical companies needing industrial-scale anaerobic manufacturing capacity.
• KAN-001 Live biotherapeutic product (LBP) candidate for the treatment of checkpoint naïve and refractory cancers, being developed in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center. Currently in preclinical development.
• KAN-003 Live biotherapeutic product (LBP) candidate for cancer indications, currently in preclinical development.
• KAN-004 Live biotherapeutic product (LBP) candidate for the treatment of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-induced colitis, which has received FDA Fast Track designation. Currently in Phase 1 clinical development at Vanderbilt and other sites.
• KAN-007 Live biotherapeutic product (LBP) candidate for the treatment of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), a disease of poverty affecting children in low- and middle-income countries. Currently in discovery stage with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3 of 15 (20%) patients responded to FMT treatment in MD Anderson Phase 2 trial; 1 CRC patient achieved ongoing complete response >2 years
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

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

• Centre de recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) / CHUM Microbiome CentreflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Strategic clinical partner sponsoring and hosting the Phase 1 trial of KAN-004 for ICI-induced colitis in Montreal. Collaboration with CHUM Microbiome Centre Directors Dr. Arielle Elkrief and Bertrand Routy. First Patient In achieved March 2026. Builds on the successful Phase 2 FMT-LUMINate trial.
• Harvard Medical School (Keith Flaherty)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2025Dr. Keith Flaherty of Harvard Medical School serves on Kanvas Biosciences' Scientific Advisory Board (joined March 2025).
• The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (PRIME-TR)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 October 2023Strategic co-development partnership via the Platform for Innovative Microbiome and Translational Research (PRIME-TR). Collaborative work on KAN-001 (lead immuno-oncology drug candidate) and KAN-003, including preclinical studies, drug manufacturing, and FMT clinical trial that de-risks KAN-001 development. PRIME-TR director Dr. Jennifer Wargo has publicly endorsed the partnership.
• Federation Bio (assets acquired)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 October 2023In October 2023, Kanvas Biosciences acquired two active therapeutics programs, a microbial library, and intellectual property from Federation Bio. This transitioned Kanvas from a technology company to a full-stack therapeutics company with active clinical programs and a new cell banking facility in South San Francisco. Lee Swem (Federation Bio's former CSO) joined as Chief Development Officer.
• Cornell UniversityflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerKanvas Biosciences' HiPR-FISH technology was initially developed at Cornell University by co-founder Iwijn De Vlaminck and CTO Hao Shi, and is exclusively licensed from Cornell. Cornell professor Iwijn De Vlaminck is co-founder and Chair of Scientific Advisory Board.
• Biotech / Pharmaceutical CDMO ClientscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKanvas provides CDMO services to biotech clients seeking high-quality anaerobic microbial manufacturing supporting Phase 1 & 2 clinical trials or GLP tox studies. Targets clients needing anaerobic microbial consortia manufacturing that they cannot perform in-house. Per Platform page, Kanvas works with 'some of the top biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in the scientific community.'
• Wyss Institute (George Church)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. George Church of the Wyss Institute serves on Kanvas Biosciences' Scientific Advisory Board.
• Finch Therapeutics / OpenBiome (Zain Kassam)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Zain Kassam, co-founder of Finch Therapeutics and OpenBiome, serves on Kanvas Biosciences' Scientific Advisory Board.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MaaT Pharma: European clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company with approved MaaT013 and pipeline in Graft-versus-Host Disease and oncology; comparable as a defined-consortium LBP developer targeting immuno-oncology complications.
• Seres Therapeutics: Pioneer in microbiome therapeutics with approved product VOWST and clinical pipeline; competes head-to-head with Kanvas in defined consortia LBP development, including oncology supportive-care adjacencies.
• Finch Therapeutics: Microbiome therapeutics company developing Full-Spectrum Microbiota and targeted consortia (FIN-211, etc.) for IBD and CDI; co-founder Zain Kassam sits on Kanvas's SAB, indicating close scientific overlap.
• Vedanta Biosciences: Clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company developing defined bacterial consortia (VE303, VE202) manufactured under GMP. Most direct competitor to Kanvas on defined consortia LBP manufacturing and clinical development.

Broad incumbents

• Assembly Biosciences: Clinical-stage biotechnology company with a microbiome program (ABI-M201) for ulcerative colitis; broader portfolio reduces focus on microbiome relative to Kanvas.
• 4D pharma: UK-listed clinical-stage microbiome company with Live Biotherapeutic Products in oncology and respiratory disease; competes with Kanvas in LBP clinical development and platform breadth.
• Rebiotix (Ferring Pharmaceuticals): Ferring's microbiome subsidiary that developed RBX2660 (now Rebyota), the first FDA-approved FMT-based microbiome therapeutic; a broad incumbent with established GMP and commercial infrastructure Kanvas lacks.

Others

• 10x Genomics: Spatial biology platform company (Xenium, Visium); Kanvas's new VP of BD Steve Kujawa came from 10x and Kanvas's HiPR-FISH/KSL imaging overlaps with the broader spatial-omics tooling ecosystem.
• Federation Bio: Predecessor LBP company whose assets, IP, microbial library, and key personnel (Lee Swem, Aditya Bhalla, Marguerite Prior, Kyle Jacoby) were acquired by Kanvas in October 2023; remains the closest institutional comparator for Kanvas's manufacturing and regulatory capabilities.

Emerging players

• Siolta Therapeutics: Clinical-stage microbiome company developing defined consortia for asthma and inflammatory diseases; overlaps with Kanvas on the rationale of rationally designed microbial therapeutics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kanvasbio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kanvas-biosciences

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors19 records

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Kanvas Biosciences