Abingdon-on-Thames-based biopharmaceutical company Alethio Therapeutics has raised €80.46 million ($90 million/£67 million) in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The company is developing new treatments for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a group of blood disorders.
The funding round was jointly led by new investors Sofinnova Partners and RA Capital, alongside existing investor Oxford Science Enterprises. Cancer Research Horizons and the University of Oxford also participated in the round.
As part of the investment, Graziano Seghezzi, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners, and Maxwell DeNies from RA Capital have joined Alethio Therapeutics’ Board of Directors.
“Alethio Therapeutics was born from years of research at the University of Oxford and from our direct experience treating patients with MPNs. We founded the company to ensure that deep human disease insight and rigorous science translate into medicines that can alter disease progression, not just manage its symptoms. Our aim is to offer patients real hope — helping them live longer, healthier lives,” co-founders Mead and Psaila mentioned on the website.
Alethio Therapeutics was founded in 2021 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford by Professors Adam Mead and Beth Psaila. Both are well-known medical researchers and specialists in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
MPNs are a group of blood cancers that cause the body to produce too many blood cells. These conditions include essential thrombocythaemia (ET) and can increase the risk of blood clots, scarring in the bone marrow (myelofibrosis) and developing acute leukaemia.
“The most transformative companies are built around insights that challenge long-held assumptions in medicine. In MPNs, the field has long accepted that controlling the disease is enough. Alethio challenges that assumption. By targeting the cells that drive the disease, its approach has the potential to move patients beyond symptom management toward true disease modification. All of this is based on an exceptional team and founders with a deep understanding of the disease,” said Graziano Seghezzi, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners.
“Too often, a patient’s first encounter with ET is a thrombotic event that lands them in the emergency room. What follows is typically lifelong treatment with therapies that can cause burdensome side effects and are associated with high rates of resistance. Alethio was founded on a simple conviction – if you can selectively eliminate the cells driving disease, you can redefine what is possible for patients. This financing enables us to turn that conviction into reality,” said Dr. Rohit Batta, Chief Executive Officer of Alethio Therapeutics.
“Since its formation, Alethio has made incredible progress in translating pioneering University of Oxford science into a focused and ambitious biotechnology company. The team has built not only a promising lead programme but also the ARTEMIS discovery platform, providing a powerful engine for future pipeline innovation. We are proud to continue supporting the company and are delighted to welcome such an experienced syndicate to help Alethio transition to the next stage of growth; delivering meaningful impact for patients in the clinic,” said Sally Dewhurst, Principal at Oxford Science Enterprises.
The company will use the funding to move into the clinical development stage and advance its main drug candidate, ATX-011. The investment will support the completion of Phase 1/2a clinical trials for essential thrombocythaemia (ET) and prepare the treatment for Phase 3 trials. Alethio also plans to develop its other MPN treatments and move them closer to the stage where they can be tested in humans.
