Veligrotug

Khartis said the financing would support its pipeline of oral small molecule medicines targeting immunology pathways. Credit: Maryia Blizniakova/Shutterstock.com. Armed with $95m in funding and a former Pfizer drug discovery specialist, Khartis Therapeutics has emerged with the aim of bringing a new treatment for an autoimmune disease that causes eye inflammation. Unveiling itself via a $50m Series B raise announcement, Khartis said its pipeline includes oral small-molecule medicines with both first- and best-in-class potential targeting immunology pathways. The fundraise, which was led by Forge Life Science Partners with participation from existing investors including Lilly Asia Ventures, means the biotech has amassed $95m in capital. Khartis said the financing would support its pipeline of oral small molecule medicines targeting immunology pathways. In particular, capital will be directed towards its lead programme, an oral, selective IGF-1R inhibitor designed specifically for the treatment of thyroid eye disease (TED). TED is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation, swelling, and a bulging appearance of the eyes. While closely linked to Graves’ disease and overactive thyroids, patients can still have the disease with normal thyroids. While targeted biologic drugs are approved to treat TED, including Amgen’s blockbuster Tepezza (teprotumumab) and Viridian Therapeutics’ Lumvoa (veligrotug), Khartis claims these come with safety trade-offs. For example, both drugs can cause severe hearing issues and spikes in blood sugar. Like Khartis’ candidate, both Amgen and Viridian’s products are IGF-1R inhibitors, though these are administered as intravenous infusions. To join the market, Khartis says it will offer a safer and more durable patient-friendly option. Khartis was co-founded in 2024 by Robert Hoffman, a veteran of the biopharma sector. Hoffman spent 32 years at Pfizer as a research project leader, helping discover lung cancer therapy Lorbrena (lorlatinib) and Covid-19 antiviral Lufotrelvir, amongst others. He also served as vice president of chemistry at XinThera until the biotech was acquired by Gilead for an undisclosed sum in May 2023. Hoffman has taken the mantle of CEO and head of drug discovery at Khartis, while co-founders Craig Murphy and Chris LeMasters are the CSO and executive chairman, respectively. The three founders, along with several of Khartis’ scientific team, worked together at XinThera. Following the emergence from stealth, Hoffman said: “This financing reflects strong conviction in our team, our science, and the opportunity ahead. With this backing, we will accelerate advancement of our lead programme while continuing to do what this team does best: discovering and developing differentiated small molecule medicines against important, clinically validated targets.” Murphy highlighted the “serious burden” that remains for TED patients, explaining that its lead programme represents just the first in a broad pipeline. “We believe an oral, selective IGF-1R inhibitor can change that equation, helping to substantially open the market with a safer, more durable patient-friendly option. And this is just the first programme in a pipeline we’re excited to bring forward,” he commented. The content above comes from the network. if any infringement, please contact us to modify.

With $95 million in hand, Khartis Therapeutics made its public debut Thursday with the goal of developing an oral medication for thyroid eye disease (TED) that could replace today's infusion-based treatments.The San Diego biotech is developing a selective small molecule inhibitor of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), the same target behind Amgen's Tepezza (teprotumumab-trbw) and Viridian Therapeutics' newly approved Lumvoa (veligrotug-vvze).The newco has a pedigree in small molecule drug discovery. CEO and head of research Robert Hoffman, Chief Scientific Officer Craig Murphy and Executive Chairman Chris LeMasters previously worked at XinThera, a small molecule biotech acquired by Gilead Sciences in 2023. Hoffman led chemistry at XinThera, Murphy headed immunology and LeMasters was CEO."At XinThera we built camaraderie and execution know-how, and that experience provided the ideal platform to launch Khartis," Hoffman told FirstWord in an email.Chasing an oral optionThe funding total includes $50 million raised in a series B led by Forge Life Science Partners. Longwood Fund and Alexandria Venture Investments, alongside existing investors Foresite Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures and Nextech Invest also participated in the round.The start-up plans to use the cash to move its lead programme toward the clinic in the first quarter of 2027 as well as build out its broader pipeline of three additional programmes aimed at established immunology pathways.Tepezza and Lumvoa are antibodies administered by intravenous infusion, though the latter is distinguished by a shorter treatment course — five infusions over 12 weeks versus eight with Tepezza — along with late-stage data encompassing patients with both active and chronic disease (see – Physician Views Results: Lumvoa looks like worthy Tepezza challenger, but SC squeeze threatens both)."TED remains a serious burden for a highly underserved patient population, where existing treatments come with real safety tradeoffs," said Murphy in a company release Thursday. "We believe an oral, selective IGF-1R inhibitor can change that equation, helping to substantially open the market with a safer, more durable patient-friendly option."Other contendersKhartis isn't the only company developing an oral option for TED. Sling Therapeutics is further along with linsitinib, an oral IGF-1R inhibitor that has been studied in more than 800 patients and recently entered the Phase III ORBIT trial in patients with moderate-to-severe active disease. The company previously reported data from the Phase IIb/III LIDS study, in which the 150-mg twice-daily dose had a 52% proptosis responder rate. However, while statistically significant, that still came in below rates seen in Tepezza's pivotal trials.  There are other candidates in development as well, though unlike Khartis and Sling, they are antibodies rather than oral small molecules.Yarrow Bioscience is working on YB-101, an antibody designed to block the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR). The programme is being developed with partner GenSci in China and is designed for subcutaneous rather than intravenous administration, which could allow for less burdensome dosing.Ethyreal Bio, which itself recently emerged from stealth, is pursuing another TSHR-targeting antibody, called ETHY-001, that is also designed for subcutaneous administration. A first-in-human trial planned for the second half of 2026. The start-up presented the first preclinical data on ETHY-001 in June showing complete blockade of autoantibody-mediated TSHR activation across all patient serum samples tested.