focus -WSS

focus

author：comprehensive 2025-09-29 22:36:32 - browse：7452

Micrograph of ulcerative colitis -- biotech coverage from STAT — Micrograph of chronic active ulcerative colitis in a biopsy specimen. Wikimedia Commons

Checkpoint inhibitors, drugs that unleash the immune system, have turned into blockbuster therapies that have transformed outcomes for some patients with deadly cancers. AltruBio, a Bay Area biotech, is betting it can help patients suffering from autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by taking the opposite tack: pumping the brakes on runaway immune responses.

The company on Tuesday announced that it has raised $225 million in a Series B venture round led by BVP Partners, with the biotech’s backers also including RA Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management, and Soleus Capital. AltruBio plans to put that money toward advancing a drug that is already being tested in a mid-stage trial for ulcerative colitis, an increasingly competitive market in which a number of pharma companies have launched drugs.

It’s the latest example of intense investor interest in immunology-focused companies. Firms such as Paragon Therapeutics and Prometheus Laboratories have recently been at the center of financing mega-rounds, and Blackstone Life Sciences recently committed up to $300 million to launch Uniquity Bio, a company developing treatments for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

STAT+ Exclusive Story

Already have an account? Log in

This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers

Unlock this article — plus daily coverage and analysis of the biotech sector — by subscribing to STAT+.

Already have an account? Log in

Monthly

$39

Totals $468 per year

$39/month Get Started

Totals $468 per year

Starter

$30

for 3 months, then $39/month

$30 for 3 months Get Started

Then $39/month

Annual

$399

Save 15%

$399/year Get Started

Save 15%

11+ Users

Custom

Savings start at 25%!

Request A Quote Request A Quote

Savings start at 25%!

2-10 Users

$300

Annually per user

$300/year Get Started

$300 Annually per user

View All Plans

Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.

Subscribe Log In

Previous article： Hollywood unions extend contract negotiations for actors
Next article： The Karikó problem: Lessons for funding basic research

knowledge

WSS

Use wet bulb globe temperature, not heat index, to protect workers

Nobel honors Karikó and Weissman's enduring partnership

Brain worms: The science behind RFK Jr.'s parasitic infection

Readout LOUD podcast: brain research, obesity drug sales, Novartis

Apple Watch's A

The biotech scorecard for Q4: 16 stock

Wikipedia

focus

This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers

Unlock this article — plus daily coverage and analysis of the biotech sector — by subscribing to STAT+.

Wikipedia

Hollywood unions extend contract negotiations for actors

Brain worms: The science behind RFK Jr.'s parasitic infection

Virginia high school admissions case could be legal follow

Use wet bulb globe temperature, not heat index, to protect workers

After affirmative action ruling, medical educators look to 'holistic review'

Health insurers' Q3 question: how much care are people getting?

In age of alternative facts, a scholarly course on calling out crap

Health insurers' Q3 question: how much care are people getting?

Medicare details structure of new drug price negotiation program

Google says AlphaFold 3 can map a vast universe of biomolecules

Wikipedia

It shouldn't be easy to buy synthetic DNA to recreate a deadly virus

Use wet bulb globe temperature, not heat index, to protect workers

Some top drug companies are starting to take action on climate

Elevance, private equity launch primary care company

Elevance, private equity launch primary care company

Researchers on aging grapple with how to calculate biological age

Wikipedia

knowledge

knowledge

leisure time