Alethio Therapeutics, an Abingdon-based University of Oxford spinout developing treatments for blood cancers, has closed an oversubscribed Series A of £67m ($90m, €80.46m). New investors Sofinnova Partners and RA Capital co-led the round alongside founding backer Oxford Science Enterprises.
Alethio was founded in 2021 by Professors Adam Mead and Beth Psaila, both physician-scientists who specialise in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). MPNs are a group of blood cancers in which the bone marrow produces too many blood cells. They raise the risk of clots and bone marrow scarring, and they can progress to acute leukaemia.
The company is led by chief executive Dr Rohit Batta. It is based in Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
The deal
The round was co-led by Sofinnova Partners and RA Capital, both new to the company, together with Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), which backed Alethio at founding. Cancer Research Horizons and the University of Oxford also took part.
As part of the deal, Graziano Seghezzi, a managing partner at Sofinnova Partners, and Maxwell DeNies of RA Capital have joined the board. Alethio did not disclose a valuation or the ownership the new investors received.
The cap-table angle
The syndicate follows a familiar pattern for Oxford life sciences spinouts. OSE and the university are on the cap table from day one, and specialist international funds bring in the large cheques once a lead asset nears the clinic. RA Capital, based in Boston, also invests in listed biotech companies, which gives Alethio a US investor that can support it in later, larger rounds.
The two board seats for the incoming leads mean the founding investor no longer sets the agenda on its own. Terms of any preference stack or investor protections were not disclosed.
The science
Alethio's lead programme, ATX-011, is a first-in-class monoclonal antibody aimed at G6B. This protein appears on the stem cells that start MPNs but not on healthy stem cells. It is also found on megakaryocytes and platelets, the cells behind clotting and fibrosis. The first target indication is essential thrombocythaemia (ET), where standard treatments such as hydroxycarbamide and interferon have been in use for decades.
Preclinical data on ATX-011 has been chosen for an oral presentation at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in 2026. A second programme targets disease driven by mutant calreticulin (CALR), which accounts for roughly 30% of MPN patients. Both are supported by ARTEMIS, the company's in-house discovery platform.
Use of funds
The money is meant to turn Alethio into a clinical-stage company. It will fund ATX-011 through Phase 1/2a studies in ET and up to Phase 3 readiness, and take further MPN programmes towards an Investigational New Drug (IND) submission.
What's next
ATX-011 is currently in IND-enabling studies. The ASH presentation will be the first public test of the preclinical data, and the timing of a first-in-human trial will decide when Alethio needs its next round.
Original source: EU-Startups — https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/11/oxford-spin-out-alethio-therapeutics-raises-e80-46-million-series-a-to-advance-targeted-blood-cancer-therapies/
