Poseida Therapeutics

What Poseida Therapeutics does

Poseida Therapeutics was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing allogeneic (off-the-shelf) CAR-T cell therapies and gene editing technologies for hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, autoimmune diseases, and genetic disorders. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Diego, California, the company built a pipeline around a proprietary allogeneic platform that derives cell therapies from healthy donor cells rather than from individual patients, with the intent of reducing per-patient cost and manufacturing timelines relative to autologous CAR-T approaches. Poseida's lead programs included P-BCMA-ALLO1 for multiple myeloma (positive Phase 1 interim data reported at ASH 2024), P-CD19CD20-ALLO1 as a dual-targeting candidate for B-cell malignancies, and P-MUC1C-ALLO1 for solid tumors.

The company's underlying technology stack combined non-viral gene editing (including transposase-based systems), proprietary gene insertion methods, and — via the Xyphos/Astellas collaboration — convertibleCAR architectures leveraging Xyphos' ACCEL technology. Poseida also held granted and pending patents on compositions targeting hemoglobin genes (hbg1/hbg2) and on transposases for genetic engineering and DNA amplification. The company was publicly traded on NASDAQ as PSTX prior to its acquisition.

Poseida's business model as an independent entity was R&D-driven and pre-commercial: it generated no product revenue and relied on equity financings (notably a $70M public offering in August 2022 and a $50M Astellas strategic investment in August 2023), strategic collaborations (Xyphos convertibleCAR deal valued at up to $550M in milestones plus tiered royalties), and eventual exit via M&A. Roche agreed to acquire Poseida for approximately $1.0 billion in cash (up to $1.5 billion with milestones) in November 2024 at a 215% premium, closing in Q1 2025; Poseida now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary integrated into Genentech's oncology, immunology, and neurology portfolio.

Name

Poseida Therapeutics

Legal name

Poseida Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://poseida.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Poseida Therapeutics was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies and gene editing technologies for hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, autoimmune diseases, and genetic disorders, acquired by Roche in 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cell Therapy / Oncology Biopharmaceuticals

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Cell Therapy Developers (Allogeneic/Off-the-shelf) (HLAAABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cell Therapy Enabling Technologies (gene editing, cell engineering, delivery methods) (HLAAABAL), Oncology Gene Therapies (incl. oncolytic vectors & gene-modified approaches) (HLAAACAF)

Keywords

• Allogeneic CAR-T therapy
• Cell therapy platform
• Gene editing therapeutics
• Cancer immunotherapy
• Biopharmaceutical development

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Poseida Therapeutics develops allogeneic (off-the-shelf) CAR-T cell therapy candidates for the treatment of multiple myeloma, B-cell malignancies, and solid tumors. The company uses proprietary non-viral gene editing and manufacturing platforms (piggyBac, Cas-CLOVER, and Ora) to engineer T-cell therapies intended for scalable, ready-to-use administration to patients.

Product overview

Poseida Therapeutics was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies for cancer treatment. The company's product portfolio included multiple clinical-stage candidates: P-BCMA-ALLO1 for multiple myeloma, P-CD19CD20-ALLO1 as a dual CAR-T targeting B-cell malignancies, and P-MUC1C-ALLO1 for solid tumors. These programs were built on Poseida's proprietary allogeneic CAR-T platform technology. Poseida was acquired by Roche in late 2024 for up to $1.5 billion and is now integrated under Genentech.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• P-BCMA-ALLO1

Quantifiable outcome

• 23% increase in share price following $50M Astellas investment announcement

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RochecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 November 2024Roche acquired Poseida Therapeutics for approximately $1.0 billion in cash with potential total deal value up to $1.5 billion including milestones. The acquisition gave Roche full control of Poseida's cell therapy candidates and platform technologies for oncology, immunology, and neurology.
• Xyphos Biosciences (Astellas Pharma)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024Research collaboration and license agreement to develop convertibleCAR programs targeting solid-tumor cancers, combining Poseida's allogeneic CAR-T platform with Xyphos' ACCEL technology. Poseida received $50 million upfront payment plus potential development and sales milestones and contingency payments totaling up to $550 million, as well as low double-digit tiered royalties on net sales.
• Takeda PharmaceuticalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023Prior collaboration terminated in July 2023. Poseida was evaluating its gene therapy projects following the termination of this collaboration.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bristol Myers Squibb: Owns Breyanzi (CD19 CAR-T) and Abecma (BCMA CAR-T). As the incumbent CAR-T commercial leader with overlapping targets, BMS represents both competitive threat and potential strategic acquirer profile.
• Gilead Sciences (Kite Pharma): Owns Yescarta and Tecartus CAR-T franchises—the dominant commercial CAR-T player. Direct competitor for heme-oncology CAR-T share and benchmark for allogeneic cost/value proposition.
• Novartis: Owns Kymriah, the first FDA-approved CAR-T. Long-standing Poseida investor (led Series C in 2019) and established biopharma with overlapping cell therapy strategic interests.
• Johnson & Johnson: Co-developed Carvykti (BCMA CAR-T) with Legend Biotech—a direct competitor to Poseida's P-BCMA-ALLO1 in multiple myeloma. Major incumbent validating the BCMA CAR-T opportunity.

Direct peers

• Allogene Therapeutics: Pure-play allogeneic CAR-T developer with overlapping pipeline in BCMA, CD19, and CD70 targets. The most direct competitor to Poseida's off-the-shelf CAR-T platform.
• CRISPR Therapeutics: Gene-edited allogeneic CAR-T developer with approved Casgevy (with Vertex) and clinical-stage CAR-T programs targeting BCMA and CD19—directly comparable platform technology and targets.
• Caribou Biosciences: Allogeneic CAR-T developer using CRISPR-based gene editing for off-the-shelf cell therapies, with clinical programs in B-cell malignancies overlapping Poseida's P-CD19CD20-ALLO1.
• Precision BioSciences: Allogeneic CAR-T developer using ARCUS gene editing platform; pursuing off-the-shelf CAR-T for oncology with similar allogeneic manufacturing approach.
• Cellectis: Pioneer of allogeneic CAR-T using TALEN gene editing; supplies platform to Allogene and Servier and is a direct technological comparable to Poseida's gene-edited allogeneic platform.

Emerging players

• Editas Medicine: Clinical-stage gene editing company with both in vivo (Casgevy via partnership) and ex vivo cell therapy programs, representing adjacent gene editing platform technology.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PoseidaThera
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/poseida-therapeutics-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors15 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Poseida Therapeutics