A University of Oxford spin-out company has secured $90 million (£67 million) to develop a new generation of therapies for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
Alethio Therapeutics, co-founded by NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Oxford researchers Professors Adam Mead and Beth Psaila, was launched as Alethiomics in 2021 with the aim of developing targeted therapies for this family of blood cancers that affect the bone marrow.
The substantial Series A financing round was co-led by new investors Sofinnova Partners and RA Capital, alongside founding investor Oxford Science Enterprises, with additional support from Cancer Research Horizons and the University of Oxford.
The proceeds of the financing will enable Alethio to transition into a clinical-stage company, with capital deployed to advance its lead programme, the antibody therapy ATX-011for essential thrombocythaemia (ET), through early phase studies up to preparing for Phase 3 trials, while progressing other programmes looking at investigational drugs for MPN.
MPNs, including ET, are blood cancers characterised by the uncontrolled production of blood cells and an increased risk of thrombosis, bone marrow scarring (myelofibrosis), and transformation to acute leukaemia.