Adrenal disease has a new challenger with deep pockets. OMass Therapeutics, based in Oxford, pulled in $310 million in Series C financing, the second-largest private biotech round in Europe this year, trailing only Isomorphic Labs’ $2.1 billion Series B from May. Total funding for the company now sits near $475 million.
Three firms co-led the oversubscribed round: Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion and Novo Holdings. Fresh capital also arrived from Janus Henderson, SV Health Investors and Jefferson Life Sciences. Returning names included Syncona, Oxford Science Enterprises, GV, Northpond Ventures, Sanofi Ventures, British Business Bank and the University of Oxford.
The largest share of the money is slated for OMS1620, an oral antagonist of the melanocortin-2 receptor. That drug heads into Phase 2 testing for congenital adrenal hyperplasia and ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome. Its mechanism blocks adrenocorticotropic hormone at the adrenal gland, so androgen production falls and patients may need less glucocorticoid. Vertex and Neurocrine Biosciences are advancing competing therapies in the same indication, meaning OMass will need convincing data to carve out room.
An SLC15A4 inhibitor, targeting lupus and autoimmune conditions tied to excess interferon signaling, is the second program to reach early clinical work. OMass dates to 2016 and grew out of research by Oxford professor Carol Robinson; its OdyssION platform pairs native mass spectrometry with biochemistry and medicinal chemistry to study targets in their natural protein environments.
