Alentis Therapeutics, a biotech company based in Basel, has announced that it has concluded a series C funding round amounting to 105 million US dollars. The startup funding round was led by Jeito Capital together with Novo Holdings and RA Capital Management. Existing investors were also involved.

Alentis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops potentially pioneering therapies for organ fibrosis and CLDN1-positive tumors. CLDN1 is a gene that codes the protein Claudin-1. This hitherto unexplored target molecule plays a vital role in the pathology of tumors with immune-evasive properties and fibrotic diseases in multiple organs. With its bispecific antibodies and CLDN1 antibody active substance conjugates, Alentis is a CLDN1 pioneer targeting an innovative approach to modify and reverse the disease course.

Roberto Iacone, CEO at Alentis Therapeutics, commented: “There are huge unmet needs in organ fibrosis and cancer, and this funding enables us to continue with the important work we’re doing in the CLDN1 space and generate clinical data from both our programs.”

Incubator BaseLaunch supported Alentis

The founder and CEO of anchor investor Jeito Capital, Rafaèle Tordjman, is “totally convinced” of the potential of the CLDN1 biology in various areas of fibrosis and oncology. She adds that Alentis is “the leading player in the CLDN1 space.”

The Basel-based company concluded a series A funding round with 12.5 million Swiss francs in 2019. This was followed by a series B round in 2021, which raised an additional 67 million US dollars.

Alentis was supported by the incubator BaseLaunch in the early startup stages. This funding round brings the total received by BaseLaunch’s portfolio companies from investors to 550 million US dollars since the start of 2018. These figures put BaseLaunch among the absolute top biotech incubators in Europe. BaseLaunch as well as Alentis are based in the Main Campus of the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area.