Alumis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in San Francisco that develops oral therapies using a precision approach to optimize outcomes for patients with immune-mediated diseases. Its lead candidate, ESK-001, is a highly selective allosteric TYK2 inhibitor being evaluated for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and non-infectious uveitis. Alumis is also developing A-005, a brain-penetrant allosteric TYK2 inhibitor aimed at neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, which was anticipated to enter a Phase 1 trial in the first half of 2024. The company leverages precision data analytics and a multi-platform approach to advance a pipeline of oral therapies and to power target discovery and clinical development. Alumis raised an upsized $259M Series C to support further clinical development of ESK-001, exploration of additional autoimmune indications, advancement of A-005, and earlier-stage internal programs. CEO Martin Babler said the investment will support continued clinical development, building on promising data demonstrating sustained target inhibition and a potentially best-in-class oral TYK2 inhibitor profile. Alumis (formerly Esker Therapeutics) combines a precision analytics platform with immunology drug discovery to develop targeted therapies for autoimmune disease. Its lead program, ESK-001, is a highly selective TYK2 inhibitor being developed for psoriasis with greater selectivity for TYK2 over JAK1 compared to current therapies in development. The company says it is advancing ESK-001 into the clinic while initiating multiple pipeline programs informed by its analytics platform. Alumis was incubated by Foresite Labs and is backed by Foresite Capital; the team has expanded across research, development and business development. The organization recently changed its name to reflect its precision-immunology focus and plans to build additional assets from internal and external sources. Proceeds from the recent financing will be used to continue advancing the pipeline and potentially add assets to the portfolio. Esker Therapeutics is building precision therapies that target the patient populations most likely to benefit from them, with an emphasis on avoiding broad "all comer" approaches. Its lead program, ESK-001, is a highly selective TYK2 inhibitor with greater selectivity for TYK2 over JAK1 and is being evaluated in a Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers for psoriasis. The company says ESK-001 demonstrated potent and highly selective TYK2 inhibition in preclinical studies, enabling higher dosing while avoiding JAK-associated side effects. Beyond ESK-001, Esker has additional discovery-stage assets focused on causal drivers across multiple autoimmune indications. Esker leverages a precision analytics platform powered by Foresite Labs that combines curated genetic, clinical and health-records data, a systems immunology toolkit, and patient-registry tools to inform target, pathway, indication, and patient-subset selection.

Total raised

$529M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Mar 2024