The immunology field has recently become one of the hottest areas in the biopharma industry, attracting a major wave of investment over the past couple of years. In fact, there have already been more than 10 buyouts of immunology and inflammation (I&I) drug developers this year from some of the biggest names in pharma and biotech, and multiple immunology companies have recently launched and raised impressive financing rounds to advance the development of their drugs.
In this article, we take a look at six biotech companies that have recently raised impressive funds for their immunology-related research and development (R&D).
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AltruBio
Originally set up with the name AbGenomics Holdings and an aim of developing cancer drugs, AltruBio shifted course in 2020, changing its name, selecting a new board, and shifting to a new focus of developing drugs to treat immunological diseases with high unmet medical needs. The company then essentially finalized its relaunch with a $63 million series A round in April 2021.
The immunology company now has a lead candidate called ALTB-268, which is an immune checkpoint agonist antibody designed to regulate T-cell homeostasis by targeting PSGL-1. By binding PSGL-1, it could downregulate chronically activated T cells without altering the activity of resting and early-activated T cells, which essentially means that the drug could take out the cells that drive multiple inflammatory diseases without diminishing the effectiveness of healthy immune cells.
Once again cashing in on its strategic shift, AltruBio bagged $225 million in series B funding in May. It said it would use the proceeds from the series B financing to advance the clinical development of ALTB-268, supporting ongoing and planned phase 2 clinical trials in ulcerative colitis.
Capstan Therapeutics
Having launched in 2022 with $165 million in funding to develop targeted in vivo RNA-based therapies, immunology company Capstan Therapeutics’ core platform technology comprises targeted lipid nanoparticles (tLNPs) that are composed of LNPs conjugated with a recombinant protein binder, such as a monoclonal antibody. TLNPs are designed to deliver payloads that are capable of reprogramming specific cell types in vivo, which could offer a more efficient and less costly alternative to current ex vivo CAR-T cell therapies.
This technology allows the company to treat diseases in two ways. It means that it can deliver mRNA-encoded CARs to specific subsets of immune cells, engineering them to eliminate pathogenic cells that express antigens recognized by the CAR, and it can also modify the cells’ DNA to treat genetic disease by delivering mRNA-encoded gene editing machinery to pathogenic cells.
A few months ago, Capstan Therapeutics managed to raise big again, this time in a series B round, landing $175 million. The proceeds are going to be used to advance CPTX2309, Capstan’s lead in vivo chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) candidate, to early clinical proof-of-concept in autoimmune disorders.
Lycia Therapeutics
In 2020, protein degradation company Lycia Therapeutics launched out of Versant Ventures with $50 million. The company has a platform intended to discover and develop first-in-class therapeutics called LYTACS that degrade extracellular and membrane-bound proteins that drive a range of difficult-to-treat diseases, including cancers and autoimmune conditions. LYTACs are essentially designed to pick up proteins from cell membranes, or proteins that are in circulation, and drag them into the cell, where they are degraded by the lysosome.
The company partnered with Eli Lilly in 2021 in a multi-year research collaboration and license agreement focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel targeted therapeutics. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies are using Lycia’s LYTAC technology to discover and develop novel degraders for up to five targets that aim to address key unmet medical needs in Lilly’s therapeutic areas of focus, including immunology and pain.
Lycia says it is rapidly advancing its first two LYTAC degraders for autoimmune and inflammatory indications toward the clinic. In May 2024, the company bagged $106.6 million in a series C round to help with this aim.
Mirador Therapeutics
Only just launched a few months ago in March 2024 with an impressive $400 million in funding, Mirador Therapeutics says it aims to revolutionize precision medicine for immune-mediated inflammatory and fibrotic diseases using its proprietary Mirador360 development engine, which fast-tracks the development process by leveraging advancements in human genetics and data science.
Mirador360 can analyze millions of patient molecular profiles, aiding in discovering and verifying genetic links to immuno-fibrotic ailments, identifying new therapeutic targets, and understanding interactions between targets. This can potentially lead to the development of combination therapies. The platform also enables the company to create diagnostics and stratify heterogeneous patient populations, therefore ensuring precise clinical development.
Santa Ana Bio
Another recently launched immunology company is Santa Ana Bio. It emerged from stealth in June with $168 million in combined series A and B funding to advance precision medicines for inflammatory diseases with the help of its multi-omics platform.
Santa Ana is currently advancing two development candidates that it says are poised to enter phase 1 trials next year. The first one is SAB01, which inhibits c-Kit, a validated target on the mast cells that drive a variety of allergic diseases. Historically, this target has had toxicity limitations including infections, neutropenia, and low sperm counts due to its expression on a variety of other cell types. To overcome this, Santa Ana has designed a bispecific that conditionally blocks c-Kit only in the presence of an undisclosed anchor target shown to be restricted to mast cells. This candidate will be trialed to treat chronic inducible urticaria.
Meanwhile, the company’s second candidate is called SAB03, which agonizes PD-1, a clinically validated target in rheumatoid arthritis, and will be tested to treat a variety of severe inflammatory conditions.
Uniquity Bio
Uniquity Bio was launched in May by Blackstone Life Sciences with the intention of developing immune-related medicines. The company emerged from stealth with a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acceptance of its phase 2 investigational new drug application for its lead candidate solrikitug, a monoclonal antibody targeting TSLP that was in-licensed from Merck & Co.
The company aims to deliver best-in-class efficacy with solrikitug across several critical respiratory and gastrointestinal (GI) indications with significant unmet needs. The phase 2 clinical trials will test solrikitug in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma.
At the same time as it launched, Uniquity also announced that Blackstone had committed up to $300 million in capital to advance solrikitug in multiple indications – given TSLP’s position as the “master switch” cytokine sitting at the top of the inflammatory cascade, the asset could have potential utility in a wide array of I&I programs.
A wave of investment in the immunology sector
As mentioned previously, there have been numerous deals and investments made within the immunology sector in recent times. Some of the most significant deals here include Biogen’s $1.15 billion deal to acquire Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio), Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ $4.9 billion acquisition of Alpine Immune Sciences, and AbbVie’s acquisitions of Landos Biopharma and Celsius Therapeutics for $137.5 million and $250 million respectively.
Due to the current interest in immune-related drugs, the global immunology market size is projected to grow from $103.18 billion in 2024 to $257.39 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1% during the forecast period, according to Fortune Business Insights. The growing awareness of immunological diseases in both developed and developing nations and the increasing prevalence of immunological disorders due to environmental factors are critical reasons for the rising demand for immunological drugs in the market.
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