Biotech Startup Alchemab Therapeutics Raises £25 Mn in Series A Round

The new funding will help Alchemab expand its clinical pipeline and increase its unique antibody database to more than 1 billion sequences. The company is focused on developing new treatments for hard-to-treat diseases.

Alchemab uses its Resiliome™ platform, which combines human biology with AI technology. It identifies naturally occurring antibodies found in people who have an unusual resistance to certain diseases, helping the company discover new medicines.

The investment follows the success of ATLX-1282, Alchemab's first antibody therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The drug is currently in clinical development and has been licensed to Eli Lilly, validating the company's AI-powered drug discovery platform.

With this latest investment, Alchemab's total Series A funding has reached £109 million. The company will use the money to expand its antibody database from 500 million to 1 billion sequences and advance more drug candidates into clinical development.

Dr Jane Osbourn, CEO and Co-Founder of Alchemab, said “We are delighted that British Business Bank has recognised the importance of enabling Alchemab to grow and thrive here in the UK. This investment provides further validation of the sustainable, long-term potential of our drug discovery platform and will enable us to further accelerate our pipeline of first-in-class antibody therapeutics for conditions with significant unmet need.”

Dame Kate Bingham, Managing Partner at SV Health Investors and Chair of Alchemab’s board of directors, said, “The UK life sciences sector has the expertise, creativity and commercial potential to build globally significant biotech companies, and Alchemab is determined to be one of them. This investment by the British Business Bank demonstrates the importance of providing capital to allow innovative biotechs to scale here, and we are proud to be building the company’s future in the UK.”

Charlotte Lawrence, Managing Director of Direct Equity at British Business Bank said, “Alchemab sits at the cutting edge of UK scientific capability, integrating deep sequencing and lab-based validation to harness the body’s natural defences against disease. This landmark £25m investment demonstrates our commitment to providing the long-term capital necessary for the UK’s most innovative biotech firms to advance complex pipelines in the UK.”

Dr Carmine Circelli, Senior Investment Director, Life Sciences at British Business Bank said, “Alchemab is yet another example of the UK’s strength in leveraging technology in life sciences. By combining one of the world’s largest proprietary antibody datasets with advanced AI, the company has developed a powerful platform with the potential to unlock new treatments. Our investment will help convert promising results into high value medical discoveries.”

Founded in 2019, Alchemab is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that discovers and develops new medicines by studying antibodies found in people who are naturally resistant to certain diseases. Its Resiliome™ platform combines the world's largest antibody database from these individuals with advanced AI and laboratory testing to identify antibodies that could become new treatments.

The company has built a strong pipeline of new drug candidates for hard-to-treat diseases. Alchemab is backed by investors including SV Health Investors (including SV's Dementia Discovery Fund), RA Capital Management, DCVC Bio, Eli Lilly, Lightstone Ventures, Ono Venture Investment, and Camford Partners.