Araris obtains CHF 2.5 million after only six months of existence

Founded in 2019 as a spin-off company from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and ETH Zurich, Araris Biotech is developing and commercializing a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-linker technology. ADCs combine antibodies (picture above blue) binding to tumor cells with highly potent anti-cancer agents (picture above orange) linked via a chemical linker.

Araris' innovative platform allows for the attachment of any payload to ‘off the shelf’ antibodies without the need of prior antibody engineering. The resulting ADCs have a well-defined drug-to-antibody ratio, are stable and monomeric. All these favourable properties contribute to the high efficacy and low level of toxicity observed so far. Hence, the straightforward drug conjugation, versatility of the technology and high in vivo efficacy enable the generation of ADC compounds for the treatment of patients with a high unmet medical need.

To further develop this pipeline of ADCs, Araris has obtained fresh capital from Swiss investors. Redalpine, Schroder Adveq and VI Partners have contributed CHF 2.5 million in Araris’ seed financing round. According to the startup, the round was oversubscribed.

“Obtaining a seed financing from VCs just six months after the incorporation of Araris validates the strong interest in our novel linker ADC technology. The funding will allow Araris to progress quickly towards generating key proof of principle data”, says Dragan Grabulovski, co-founder and chairman of the board. Grabulovski previously co-founded and was the CSO of Covagen, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2014. 

With only six months in the startup scene Araris has already been part of some of the most renowned startup programs such as the Swiss Technology Award, >>venture>> and venture kick in which the team won CHF 130’000 in the finals. 

(Press release)