Peel Therapeutics sources drug candidates from evolutionary and natural sources — including elephant tumour suppressor genes, camptothecin-derived molecules from Camptotheca acuminata, and honeybee venom peptides — and advances them through preclinical and clinical development. Its lead asset, PEEL-224, is a topoisomerase I inhibitor engineered to reduce toxicity and evade resistance; PEEL-224 completed a first-in-human Phase 1 dose-escalation study and has moved into a Phase 1/2 combination trial targeting adolescents and young adults with relapsed or refractory sarcomas. The pipeline also includes an elephant-derived p53 gene therapy delivered via lipid nanoparticles and other nature-derived candidates that have not yet reached the clinic. Peel was launched with support from Altitude Lab and operates across Salt Lake City and Haifa, Israel; key leaders include CEO Joshua Schiffman and co-founder Avi Schroeder. Financially, the company previously raised a $36M seed round (including a $9M SAFE in early 2023) and more than $3M in NIH grants, and has now closed the first tranche of a Series A with details undisclosed. The company faces typical early-stage risks such as difficult enrolment in paediatric oncology trials and the capital intensity of advancing multiple unconventional candidates through clinical development.

Total raised

$9M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Feb 2023