Ajax Therapeutics is developing next‑generation, selective JAK inhibitors to address unmet needs in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), including myelofibrosis. Its lead candidate, AJ1‑11095, is a first‑in‑class Type II JAK2 inhibitor designed via a collaboration with Schrödinger using structure‑based drug design and large‑scale computational methods. Preclinical data show AJ1‑11095 maintains efficacy against MPN cells that become resistant to chronic Type I JAK2 inhibition and is intended to provide greater efficacy with potential disease‑modifying effects. The company plans to advance AJ1‑11095 into the clinic for myelofibrosis later this year and to use proceeds to push its broader MPN pipeline forward. Ajax emphasizes selective, structure‑guided approaches informed by its founding scientists’ cancer and structural biology insights. Ajax Therapeutics pursues uniquely selective small-molecule therapies targeting key cytokine signaling pathways that drive hematologic malignancies. The company combines disease and structural biology insights from its scientific founders with computational drug-discovery capabilities through a partnership with Schrödinger. Ajax’s pipeline centers on structurally enabled targets and is advanced via integrated discovery work with Schrödinger scientists to design compounds with desired selectivity and drug-like properties. The company began as an academic consortium and was founded in 2019, leveraging clinical and research collaborations with institutions such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and NYU Langone Health. Proceeds from the recent financing will support advancement of lead programs toward the clinic, sustain the discovery pipeline, and potentially expand research beyond hematologic malignancies. Ajax also plans to build out its scientific and technical leadership team as it advances its programs.

Total raised

$135M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

May 2024