AACR · Jul 2026
AACR news release summarizing the same prevention study; notes 90% KRAS-specific T-cell response, durable responses over two years, and Adventris-related conflict disclosures.
Adventris makes cancer vaccines
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 29, 2026
Overview
Adventris Pharmaceuticals is a YC Winter 2023 biotechnology company focused on cancer immunotherapy and cancer vaccines. Public materials describe its lead program as an off-the-shelf KRAS-targeted vaccine for lung/pancreatic cancer, with later updates referring to a next-generation engineered antigen therapeutic (ADV8121) and broader KRAS-driven cancer prevention/treatment goals. Public sources disagree on HQ (San Francisco vs Baltimore), so both are noted in the office location fields. [Adventris site] [YC] [Johns Hopkins] [Nature]
Primary product
Off-the-shelf KRAS-targeted cancer vaccine (mKRAS-VAX / KRAS vaccine platform); next-gen ADV8121 engineered antigen therapeutic
Founded
2022
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States (some public directories also list Baltimore, Maryland)
Team size
1-10 employees
Industry
Biotechnology Research
Sub-industry
Cancer immunotherapy / cancer vaccines
Offices
1812 Ashland Ave, Baltimore, MD 21205
212 27th Street, San Francisco, CA 94131
Business model
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical R&D
therapeutic vaccine development
licensing / partnership-driven biotech
Funding
Stage
pre-seed
Total raised
$500K
Latest round
Pre-Seed Convertible Note · Apr 2023
Latest amount
$500K
Apr 2023 · Y Combinator
People & investors
Leadership
CEO & Co-Founder
Co-Founder
Chief Medical Officer / Scientific Co-Founder
Co-Founder
Scientific Co-Founder
Founder
Work & culture
Early-stage, mission-driven biotech with a small team, emphasis on scientific expertise, and hiring language that suggests a fast-moving research environment. The company also advertises equal-opportunity hiring.
Compensation
A public 2025 associate-scientist job posting listed $80,000-$100,000 base salary, with potential annual bonus and stock options.
Benefits
Unlimited PTO
11 paid holidays
Family health insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Annual bonus eligibility
Stock options
Product & market
Pricing
Not publicly disclosed
Differentiators
- —Off-the-shelf KRAS vaccine approach rather than fully bespoke patient-specific therapy
- —Focus on poorly immunogenic oncogenes and KRAS, the most common cancer oncogene
- —Johns Hopkins-licensed cancer-vaccine technology with published human trial data
- —Clinical proof-of-concept across pancreatic and colorectal KRAS studies
- —Next-generation engineered antigen therapeutic (ADV8121) mentioned in 2026 company updates
Technology
KRAS peptide vaccine platform
mKRAS-VAX
ADV8121 engineered antigen therapeutic
amplifying RNA vector system
Benchling
GraphPad Prism
ELISpot
flow cytometry
Customers
Patients with KRAS-driven cancers
High-risk pancreatic cancer cohorts
Oncology clinicians / trial sites
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
Approximately $1M-$2M estimated ARR in 2024 (GetLatka estimated $1.1M)
Latest news
Johns Hopkins Medicine · Jul 2026
Press release on phase 1 mKRAS-VAX prevention data in high-risk pancreatic cohorts: durable KRAS-specific T-cell responses in 90% of participants, with disclosures identifying Adventris founders and the company's licensed Johns Hopkins technology.
Nature Communications · Jun 2026
Peer-reviewed phase 1 metastatic colorectal cancer study showing safety and immunogenicity of the KRAS vaccine approach; disclosures again identify Adventris founders and Johns Hopkins licensing.
Nature Communications · Feb 2026
Peer-reviewed phase 1 trial report for mKRAS-VAX plus ipilimumab/nivolumab in resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; reported 91.7% of patients with increased KRAS T-cell responses and safety signals that supported later prevention work.
The Social Radars / Rosetta · Oct 2025
Podcast transcript in which Jen Herbach describes Adventris's KRAS vaccine strategy, IND planning, and a target of dosing first patients in early 2027.
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