In this year's largest privite biotech fundraise to date, Alumis announced $259 million Series C financing to initiate pivotal phase 3 clinical trials for its lead candidate ESK-001, a highly selective allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, in moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Alumis plans to use the funds to initiate the trial 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 noninfectious 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.

"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,” Martin Babler, Alumis’ President and CEO, said in a company news release. “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.”

The clinical program for ESK-001 includes the phase 2 STRIDE trial and an open-label extension (OLE) study for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis; a phase 2b clinical trial of ESK-001 for the treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (LUMUS); and a proof-of-concept phase 2 clinical trial in noninfectious uveitis (OPTYK-1). 

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, and a U.S.-based healthcare-focused fund. Srinivas Akkaraju, MD, PhD, Founder and Managing General Partner of Samsara BioCapital, and Richard Gaster, MD, PhD, Managing Partner at venBio Partners, will join Alumis’ Board of Directors.