Laguna Bio is advancing an engineered, highly attenuated Listeria monocytogenes strain into clinical testing for pediatric leukemia after preclinical work showing robust activation of rare gamma-delta T cells. Founders Jonathan Kotula, Dan Portnoy and Russell Carrington described a systems-level approach that leverages the microbe’s multifactorial immune stimulation instead of single-target reductionist therapies. The company plans patient testing of its lead Listeria strain, emphasizing repeat dosing and durable immune activation without conventional immune exhaustion.