With backing from three Big Pharma investment arms, British biotech T-Therapeutics is brewing up a clinical launch for its cancer and autoimmune T cell engagers.
T-Therapeutics has bagged $133 million in series B funding to move its next-gen T cell engager therapeutics into the clinic for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The oversubscribed series B was co-led by new investors Advent Life Sciences and British Business Bank, with participation from a slew of Big Pharma backers, including Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Eli Lilly and Sanofi Ventures, among other investors.
The U.K. biotech will use the new cash infusion to speed its T cell receptor (TCR) bispecific lead programs into the clinic. The cancer asset, dubbed TTX-008, targets CD3 for solid tumors, while the immunology candidate, called TTX-018, targets the same protein complex but for autoimmune and inflammation disorders.
Both programs stem from T-Therapeutics’ OpTiMus platform, which provides fully human TCRs to tackle historically difficult-to-reach intracellular targets. Initially formed in 2022, the biotech raised a total of $91 million in series A money after closing an extension in November 2025.
“This financing is a key step in our transition to a clinical-stage company, enabling us to accelerate the development of two oncology and immunology programs with pan-indication, blockbuster potential, underpinned by a platform that reaches targets long considered undruggable,” T-Therapeutics CEO Theodora Harold said in a Thursday release.
At the same time, the U.K. startup is also welcoming Kirsty Crame aboard as chief development officer. Crame previously served as Swiss pharma Curatis’ chief medical officer, with experience at Medigene and Gadeta before that.
On the same day, another British biotech secured venture capital to transition into a clinical-stage company. Oxford-based Alethio Therapeutics announced an oversubscribed $90 million series A that will go toward its myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) candidate for a rare, chronic blood cancer. The round was co-led by biotech venture capital firms Sofinnova Partners and RA Capital.
Over the past two years, U.S. biotechs have raised the majority of private venture capital financing with $37.2 billion, or 68% of the worldwide total, according to an October report from J.P. Morgan.
Outside of the U.S., European biopharma companies raised $9.2 billion from 2025 through 2026’s third quarter, accounting for just under 17% of all capital deployed. The U.K. raised the largest share, securing $3.1 billion across 58 rounds.
