Wa’ed Ventures, the Saudi Aramco-backed $500 million venture capital fund, announces leading the $10 million Pre-Series A funding round in Kure Cells, a U.S.-based biotechnology company focused on next-generation cell therapies. The investment is aimed at accelerating the company’s development of its rapid-manufacturing platform for CAR-T therapies (an advanced form of cancer treatment that modifies a patient’s immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells) and other cell-based oncology therapies.
The funding round also included the participation of Qomel, one of the fastest-growing healthcare companies in Saudi Arabia; NantBio, a US-based pharmaceutical company; along with US93.
The global cell and gene therapy market is projected to reach over $100 billion by 2030, driven by breakthroughs in oncology and regenerative medicine, according to a report by Coherent Market Insights. Yet one of the industry’s biggest challenges remains: the speed, scalability and cost of manufacturing.
To address this challenge, Kure Cells, led by Dr. David Wald and Dr. Sayer Alfuraydi, is pioneering a new generation of cellular therapies by reimagining how “living drugs” are created. The company’s proprietary Ultra-Fast CAR (UF-CAR) platform enables same-day engineering of a patient’s T-cells to fight cancer, compressing a multi-week process into less than 24 hours. By following the proprietary process, T-cell’s health and function are preserved, resulting in improved durability and a safer clinical profile. The automated closed-system process is readily scalable and can reduce manufacturing costs to a fraction of the conventional CAR-T production cost.
Out of the product pipeline, Kure’s lead candidate, UF-KURE19, has shown an 88 percent complete response rate and a lower rate of side effects in patients with relapsed or unresponsive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (a form of blood cancer) cases. Building on this success, Kure Cells is partnering globally with biotechnology companies to integrate its platform into next-generation therapies across oncology and immune-mediated diseases.
Through the new funding round, Kure Cells will accelerate its Saudi market expansion by establishing localized R&D and manufacturing capabilities dedicated to advanced cell therapy development. The company will work closely with Saudi researchers and clinicians to adapt its proprietary rapid-manufacturing platform to local regulatory and clinical environments. The partnerships support the Ministry of Investment (MISA) and the Research, Development and Innovation Authority’s (RDIA) drive to anchor global biotech innovation in the Kingdom by localizing high-value research, piloting clinical applications, and nurturing a new generation of Saudi scientists in cell and gene therapy.
“Partnering with Kure Cells is a crucial step in localizing cutting-edge biotech companies in the Kingdom. Their rapid cell therapy manufacturing platform compresses timelines, lowers costs, and broadens patient access while actively building Saudi’s biotech ecosystem through local R&D, talent development, and clinical translation. Together with Kure’s founders, the aim is to advance Saudi Arabia’s healthcare and deliver transformational care to cancer patients,” said Anas Algahtani, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Wa’ed Ventures.
“This partnership marks a major step toward making truly next-generation CAR-T therapies accessible on a global scale,” said Dr. David Wald, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kure Cells. “Our ultra-fast platform is designed not only to deliver more durable and safer outcomes for patients, but also to enable rapid, in-country manufacturing at a fraction of current costs. Together with Wa’ed and our other partners, we aim to bring this transformative capability to the Kingdom and areas of the world with limited accessibility to cell therapy products.”