Setara Biosciences has emerged with a $90M Series A, built from the pipeline Jazz Pharmaceuticals left behind when it bought Actio Biosciences earlier this year.
Jazz took ABS-1230, an experimental therapy for KCNT1-related epilepsy, in that acquisition. Setara now carries the remaining programs, led by STAR-0871, an oral small molecule that inhibits TRPV4. The investor group includes Deerfield Management, Canaan, Droia Ventures, EcoR1, Euclidean Capital and Regeneron Ventures, with Jazz itself holding a stake.
One gene, two markets
The drug targets Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C, a rare inherited neuromuscular disorder driven by gain-of-function TRPV4 mutations that Setara says affects roughly 2,500 people in the US. The company has finished the healthy volunteer portion of a Phase 1 trial and aims to start a Phase 1b study in patients, labelled THERON, during 2027.
STAR-0871 holds Rare Pediatric Disease, Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations from the FDA. A Phase 2a study in overactive bladder is also planned, a far larger market that tens of millions of Americans live with.
The genetics playbook, again
Setara is led by Actio co-founder David Goldstein, who is president and executive chair. The company describes a one-to-many strategy: begin where human genetics clearly explains disease biology, validate the mechanism in a rare population, then apply the same insight to more prevalent conditions.
Earlier programs in genetic epilepsies and migraine sit behind the lead asset. The financing buys time to run the CMT2C trial rather than to buy growth.
