Founded in 2014, Step Pharma is pioneering inhibition of cytidine triphosphate synthetase-1 (CTPS1) to create highly selective cancer therapies that spare healthy tissue. Its lead compound, dencatistat, is in a phase 1a dose-escalation study for solid tumours and is also being tested in a phase 1/2 trial for relapsed or refractory T- and B-cell lymphoma, an indication for which it holds FDA orphan-drug designation. A third clinical programme is underway in essential thrombocythaemia, and phase 1b expansion cohorts for CTPS2-null ovarian and endometrial cancers are slated to begin enrolling in 2026, with a lung-cancer cohort planned. CTPS2 loss occurs in roughly 15-20 % of these gynaecological tumours, creating a synthetic-lethal dependency on CTPS1 that dencatistat is designed to exploit. Proceeds from recent financing will also fund drug manufacture and pivotal toxicology ahead of phase 2 studies. Headquartered in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, France, the company is backed by investors such as Kurma Partners, V-Bio Ventures, Bpifrance, Pontifax, Hadean Ventures, Sunstone Life Science Ventures and others, and it closed a €38 million Series C round in October 2025.

Total raised

$106M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Grant

Latest activity

Feb 2026