– Financing led by Foresite Capital, Samsara BioCapital and venBio Partners with participation from additional new and existing investors –
– Proceeds will support ongoing comprehensive mid to late-stage clinical development program for ESK-001 in plaque psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and uveitis –
– Alumis will continue to explore ESK-001’s potential application in other immune-mediated diseases, as well as advance pipeline programs including A-005 for the treatment of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases –
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 6, 2024 – Alumis Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies using a precision approach to transform the lives of patients with immune-mediated diseases, today announced an upsized $259M Series C financing. Alumis plans to use the proceeds of the financing to initiate pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials for its lead candidate ESK-001, a highly selective and potentially best-in-class allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, in moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in the second half of 2024, as well as support the two ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials for ESK-001 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and non-infectious uveitis. The financing will also support the further advancement of Alumis’ precision data analytics and multi-platform approach to explore ESK-001’s potential application in other autoimmune indications, as well as A-005, a TYK2 inhibitor for the treatment of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, and its earlier-stage internal pipeline programs.
The financing was co-led by existing investor, Foresite Capital, and new investors, Samsara BioCapital and venBio Partners, with additional participation from new investors Cormorant Asset Management, SR One, Lilly Asia Ventures, Nextech, Ally Bridge Group, HBM Healthcare Investments, Omega Funds, Piper Heartland Healthcare and existing investors AyurMaya, an affiliate of Matrix Capital Management and a U.S.-based healthcare-focused fund. Srinivas Akkaraju, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Managing General Partner of Samsara BioCapital, and Richard Gaster, M.D., Ph.D., Managing Partner at venBio Partners, will join Alumis’ Board of Directors.
“We are pleased to announce our successful Series C financing and we are grateful for the support of our strong investor syndicate, a group that shares our commitment to transforming the treatment paradigm for patients living with immune-mediated diseases,” said Martin Babler, Alumis’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “This investment will support the continued clinical development of ESK-001, building on promising data that have demonstrated full, sustained target inhibition leading to a potentially best-in-class oral TYK2 inhibitor profile. It will also support continued advancement of additional pipeline programs powered by our proprietary precision immunology platform for target discovery and clinical development.”
