Alethio Therapeutics raises €80.46 million Series A to advance targeted blood cancer therapies

The round was co-led by Sofinnova Partners and RA Capital, with participation from existing investor Oxford Science Enterprises, Cancer Research Horizons and the University of Oxford. Following the investment, Graziano Seghezzi of Sofinnova Partners and Maxwell DeNies of RA Capital have joined the company's board of directors.

“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.

“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 was founded in 2021 by Professors Adam Mead and Beth Psaila as a spin-out from the University of Oxford. The company focuses on developing treatments for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a group of blood cancers that includes essential thrombocythaemia (ET). These conditions cause the body to produce too many blood cells and can increase the risk of blood clots, bone marrow scarring and acute leukaemia.

The company said current treatments for ET, such as hydroxycarbamide and interferon, have been used for decades. These treatments are not targeted and can also affect healthy cells.

Alethio is working on targeted treatments that aim to remove the cells responsible for the disease while protecting healthy cells. The company hopes its approach will help control the disease, improve blood counts, reduce the risk of blood clots and improve patient outcomes.

“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.

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