Araris founders Dr. Dragan Grabulovski, Dr. Isabella Attinger-Toller and Dr. Philipp Spycher
We are delighted to announce that our portfolio company Araris Biotech AG (Redalpine Capital IV) raised a total amount of CHF 15.2 million in its seed round. Pureos Bioventures led the round with significant participation from Redalpine, 4BIO Capital and other existing investors.
The Swiss startup is pioneering a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-linker technology platform. Their technology allows for the attachment of any payload to ‘off the shelf’ antibodies, opening up a plethora of new opportunities and significantly reducing the time to new ADCs. The proceeds of the round will be used to advance the platform as well as Araris’ pipeline of proprietary ADC compounds.
Today, one major limitation of ADC technologies is that the linker between antibody and drug lacks stability in the human body leading to a premature loss of the payload. This often results in systemic toxicity and limits broader adoption among patients. Araris’ linker platform addresses this limitation offering a linker that is stable in serum and under stress conditions.
"We see this funding as a very strong validation of our company, the lead programs and the Araris linker platform. It will allow us to take our lead program to the next step, as well as to progress our preclinical pipeline towards the clinic. I am very happy to strengthen our investor base so significantly with renowned investors, all of whom have a proven track record in supporting emerging companies. Also, I am grateful for the continuous support from our existing investors." said Dr. Philipp Spycher, CEO and co-founder of Araris.
Dr. Dragan Grabulovski, co-founder and chairman, added: “The quality of the investors reflects the quality of the science, the product candidates and the entire team at Araris Biotech. I would like to welcome Dominik Escher, Dmitry Kuzmin, Michael Sidler and Arnd Kaltofen to the board of directors. Their experience and knowledge will be key in ensuring Araris’ continued success.”
For more information, please visit Araris’ website or read this GlobeNewswire Article.