Sensei Biotherapeutics Changes Name to Faeth Therapeutics, Names Former FDA Commissioner to Board
Sensei Biotherapeutics has changed its name to Faeth Therapeutics following its February 2026 acquisition of the biotechnology company. The name change accompanies a $200 million private placement financing to advance PIKTOR, an investigational all-oral multi-node inhibitor targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in endometrial and breast cancer. Topline Phase 2 data in endometrial cancer is anticipated in the second half of 2026.
Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNSE) has officially changed its corporate name to Faeth Therapeutics, Inc., with its common stock expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the new ticker symbol "FTH" starting June 16, 2026. The name change follows stockholder approval on June 10, 2026, for the conversion of Series B preferred stock issued in connection with the company's February 2026 acquisition of Faeth Therapeutics.
Concurrent with the acquisition, the company entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of Series B non-voting convertible preferred stock in a private placement financing, which resulted in gross proceeds of approximately $200 million. The financing included participation from B Group Capital, Balyasny Asset Management, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Cormorant Asset Management, Fairmount, Logos Capital, RA Capital Management, Vivo Capital, and other institutional investors. The company expects to use the proceeds primarily to advance its lead program, PIKTOR, through key clinical milestones.
PIKTOR is an investigational, proprietary, all-oral combination of serabelisib, a selective PI3K-alpha inhibitor, and sapanisertib, an mTORC1/mTORC2 inhibitor, designed to inhibit multiple nodes of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. According to published literature, this pathway is dysregulated in up to 50% of all solid tumors. PIKTOR is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 trial in second-line advanced endometrial cancer (Study FTH-PIK-201), with topline data anticipated in the second half of 2026. The company also plans to initiate a Phase 1b trial in HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer, with interim data expected in 2027.
"The clinical data, the caliber of the scientific team, and the investor syndicate that came together for these transactions reinforce our conviction in the program," stated the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The company noted that PIKTOR showed a signal in its Phase 1b trial, including a number of complete responses in endometrial cancer patients after multiple prior lines of therapy.
Effective June 12, 2026, the company appointed a new executive leadership team. Anand Parikh, a co-founder of Faeth Therapeutics, was appointed Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Brian Stephenson, Ph.D., CFA, was appointed Chief Financial Officer. Oliver Maddocks, Ph.D., a co-founder of Faeth and cancer-metabolism researcher, serves as Chief Scientific Officer, and Debbie Chirnomas, M.D., M.P.H., serves as Chief Medical Officer.
The board of directors now consists of five members, including former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D., and Saira Ramasastry, a life sciences strategic advisor. Faeth Therapeutics was originally co-founded in 2019 by Anand Parikh and Oliver Maddocks, PhD, with scientific founders including Lewis Cantley, PhD, Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, DPhil, Karen Vousden, PhD, Scott Lowe, PhD, and Greg Hannon, PhD.
Following the acquisition, the combined company's lead program is PIKTOR, while it also continues a Phase 1/2 trial of solnerstotug, a V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors.