Emerging Biotech

SNAP Biosciences

SNAP Biosciences is developing a universal immune receptor platform, SNAP-CAR, that enables engineered T and NK cells to be directed by already existing antibody-based therapeutics.

Company Snapshot

Overview

The Challenge: Cell therapies have become too expensive, toxic, and difficult to develop. Patients deserve access, but too many barriers exist.

SNAP’s Approach: SNAP-CAR is a universal CAR receptor that enables already existing antibodies to be used as targeting molecules for cell therapies, offering a path to modular, programmable immune cell products.

Real-World Impact: The ability to repurpose already existing antibodies as targeting modules could accelerate clinical translation and expand access to cell-based therapies to a broad array of patients.

The Team: SNAP’s team has deep experience in advancing oncology-focused cell therapy programs from early development through clinical translation and regulatory engagement.

Clinical Development

Lead Program: SNAP-NK: Allogeneic NK cells derived from donor peripheral blood and engineered to express SNAP-CAR receptor.

Current Status: With strong preclinical validation and a flexible platform design, SNAP is strategically evaluating indication selection and development partnerships to align its first-in-human programs with the greatest clinical and commercial impact.

Delivery Method: Intravenous infusion of engineered SNAP-CAR cells – similar to other CAR-based cell therapies – co-administered with modified antibodies.

Stage: Preclinical

Impact & Market Opportunity

Target Indication: Initial focus will be CD19/CD20+ B cell malignancies affecting over 75,000 patients annually in the U.S. alone.

Clinical Burden: Five-year survival rates for aggressive B cell malignancies range from 40–70%, with over 20,000 related deaths annually in the U.S.

Market Growth: A $3.5B+ global market opportunity for cell therapies across B cell malignancies, driven by increasing relapse rates and CAR-T adoption. Sources below.

Expansion Potential: The platform’s modular design enables rapid expansion into multiple indications and therapeutic areas beyond oncology, including autoimmunity and infectious diseases.

Company Overview: SNAP Biosciences

SNAP Biosciences, a subsidiary of Coeptis Therapeutics, is pioneering a new class of immune cell therapeutics with its universal SNAP-CAR platform. In an era increasingly dominated by antibody-based therapeutics, SNAP is developing the first immune receptor specifically designed to interface with the entire antibody infrastructure.

The SNAP-CAR technology enables FDA-approved and clinically validated antibodies to direct the activity of engineered T and NK cells – essentially transforming these familiar biologics into cell engagers, “in a snap”.

This modular approach promises to unify two of the most powerful modalities in oncology today – antibody-based therapeutics, and CAR-based cell therapies – while addressing some of their most persistent challenges: rigid targeting, uncontrolled toxicity, and costly redevelopment cycles.

SNAP Biosciences - Major Sections

The Therapeutic Opportunity

The Untapped Potential of Existing Antibodies

Antibody-based therapeutics have become foundational in medicine, with hundreds of FDA-approved and clinically validated monoclonal antibodies used across a wide range of diseases. In parallel, the successes of CAR-T cell therapies and bispecific T cell engagers (TCEs) have demonstrated the power of using antibody-based targeting to redirect immune cells toward tumor antigens – but this typically requires the development of custom, indication-specific CAR constructs or antibody platforms.

Even when targeting well-known antigens like CD19, CD20, CD30, or BCMA, CARs and TCEs require the design, engineering, and validation of entirely new platforms, despite decades of clinical experience with conventional antibodies against those same targets.

SNAP-CAR flips this script on its head.

Rather than building a new targeting system from scratch for each antigen, SNAP-CAR is a universal immune receptor that allows engineered T and NK cells to be guided by the vast existing antibody infrastructure.

This is a simple but potentially powerful shift, repurposing what already works to unlock a more flexible, modular approach to cell therapy.

While the broader field races to build entirely new formats like T cell engagers or multi-specific CAR constructs to achieve immune redirection, SNAP-CAR appears to be asking a different question: Why not just use the antibodies we already trust?

How is this possible? Find out more below.

SNAP Biosciences' Innovation

SNAP-CAR - A Universal CAR Receptor Built for the Antibody Age

SNAP-CAR is a universal immune receptor system designed to integrate seamlessly with clinically validated monoclonal antibodies. Instead of relying on scFvs or custom-designed targeting domains, the SNAP-CAR receptor features a chemically reactive SNAP-tag on its extracellular domain, capable of forming a covalent bond with antibodies that have been modified with a benzylguanine (BG) moiety.

This enables a simple yet powerful mechanism:

Engineer T or NK cells to express the SNAP-CAR receptor.
Chemically modify existing antibodies (e.g., rituximab, trastuzumab) with BG.
Co-administer the BG-tagged antibody with SNAP-CAR cells.

Once infused, the antibody binds its antigen as usual, then forms a stable covalent bond with the SNAP-CAR receptor. This locks immune targeting onto the tumor cell and initiates cytotoxic activity, just like a conventional CAR-T or TCE would.

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This simple but clever design grants SNAP-CAR with a number of desirable therapeutic qualities, including:

1. Modularity

SNAP-CAR enables an incredible amount of “flexibility”:

Target switching: New targets can be addressed simply by changing the antibody.
Dose tuning: Effector activity can be up- or down-regulated by controlling antibody dose.
Multi-targeting: Multiple antibodies can be administered simultaneously for multi-antigen coverage, without requiring new and complex receptor constructs.

2. Scalability & Versatility

SNAP-CAR supports broad patient accessibility by enabling a single, universal engineered cell bank to be redirected toward multiple diseases without ANY redesign. This means:

No need to re-engineer cells for each disease/target
Streamlines development and manufacturing from a shared cell bank
Expands therapeutic reach without increasing product complexity

3. Ensures Robust Immune Cell Activity

SNAP-CAR overcomes a major limitation of T cell engagers by ensuring that immune redirection is paired with a reliable population of potent effector cells…let me explain.

TCEs rely on the patient’s T cells – which might be compromised due to immunosuppression or damaged from prior rounds of treatment – whereas SNAP-CAR utilizes a fresh population of immunologically stimulated effector cells.

This ensures consistency from patient-to-patient and promotes proper antibody-mediated anti-cancer immune activity, regardless of the patient’s health or treatment history.

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Now, there ARE other “universal CAR” platforms that promise similar benefits, but SNAP-CAR possesses a unique competitive edge. Learn more, below.

Competitive Edge

SNAP-CAR is Differentiated Among Universal CARs

While other universal CAR systems exist – like those being developed by ARCELLX, AvenCell, and Umoja – that offer similar benefits, SNAP-CAR stands apart in two critical ways:

1. Antibody-Based Targeting:

Unlike other platforms that rely on custom-designed, antigen-specific adaptors, SNAP-CAR seamlessly integrates with existing monoclonal antibodies – many of which are FDA-approved and clinically validated. This dramatically lowers the barrier to expansion across new indications and leverages the high affinity and specificity of already-optimized antibody therapeutics.

2. Covalent Receptor Engagement:

SNAP-CAR receptors form a covalent bond with BG-tagged antibodies, in contrast to the non-covalent, affinity interactions used by other universal systems. This permanent linkage enhances mechanical stability at the immunological synapse, promoting more consistent receptor clustering, robust downstream signaling, and ultimately, stronger effector cell activation.

Impact & Market Opportunity

Market Opportunity: T Cell Engagers in Oncology and Autoimmunity

T cell engagers are absolutely exploding in oncology right now, and represent one of the hottest markets in healthcare. Due to AED T cells’ ability to interact with any TCE, Encelta would theoretically have access to the entire market.

According to Wise Guy Reports, the global bispecific T cell engager therapeutics market was valued at $0.81 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $18.7 billion by 2032, representing a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.78% from 2024 to 2032.

Overall, the TCE field is rapidly expanding, driven by things like advances in T cell engineering, combination therapy strategies, and strategies to enhance TCE efficacy. As TCEs become more sophisticated and broadly applied, Encelta’s AED T cells may become a highly sought after bolt-on addition to improve clinical activity.

SNAP-CAR's Revolutionary Potential: To Oncology and Beyond

Because SNAP-CAR leverages the vast existing infrastructure of monoclonal antibodies, its utility is not limited to oncology. Antibodies targeting viral, bacterial, and autoimmune-related antigens are already in widespread use or late-stage development, making it possible to apply the SNAP-CAR platform to diseases beyond cancer.

Infectious Diseases: Redirect immune cells toward virally infected cells using antibodies against HIV, HBV, or CMV.
Inflammation & Autoimmunity: Pair SNAP-CAR cells with antibodies targeting disease-driving immune subsets or inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-17, BAFF, CD19).
Rapid Program Expansion: No need for new binders—just swap in disease-specific antibodies already validated in the clinic.

By decoupling cell engineering from disease targeting, SNAP-CAR enables a plug-and-play approach to programmable cell therapies across a wide range of therapeutic areas.

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