- $12 million seed funding round led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Apollo Health Ventures, with AlbionVC, YZR Capital, and Parkwalk Advisors, and support from Oxford University Innovation
- Scripta takes a biology-first approach to discover disease-modifying drugs that modulate transcription factor activity and reprogram biology
- Ray Barlow joins board as Non-Executive Director
OXFORD, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Techbio startup Scripta Therapeutics emerges from stealth by announcing a $12 million seed round to upend conventional approaches to drug discovery.
Scripta combines AI, imaging, and unique patient-derived models to create and modulate disease maps based on transcriptional networks, building a new biology-first paradigm to decode and undo the programs that drive disease.
The round is led jointly by Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) and Apollo Health Ventures, with further investment from AlbionVC, YZR Capital, and Parkwalk Advisors, and support from Oxford University Innovation.
Modulating transcription factor activity to reprogram biology
Scripta’s unique approach is based on the concept that transcription factors, the master controllers of gene expression, are core drivers of disease and act as detailed and dynamic maps of the mechanisms that underpin it.
Through a data-rich, lab-in-the-loop combination of experimental biology with cutting-edge AI and informatics, Scripta aims to efficiently identify therapeutics that modulate these maps to restore healthy cell states.
Biology decoded, disease undone
While the platform can be applied to any disease, the team is focusing first on Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions in collaboration with scientific co-founder Noel Buckley, Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Oxford.
Peter Hamley, founder and CEO of Scripta, said, “We’re flipping the script on conventional target-based drug discovery to find therapies that genuinely move the needle for patients. By focusing on understanding and manipulating the master controllers of biology, we’re searching for drugs with the potential not just to delay disease progression but to stop it in its tracks.”
Experienced biotech business builder Ray Barlow, CEO of SynOx Therapeutics, has also been brought on to strengthen Scripta’s board as a Non-Executive Director.
He said, “Scripta brings fresh thinking and a novel biology-led, data-rich approach to a traditionally challenging area of drug discovery. I am looking forward to working with this outstanding team to deliver effective new medicines that are long overdue for so many patients.”
Claire Brown, Partner at OSE and board member of Scripta, said, “We’re proud to be backing Scripta – a brilliant team that exemplifies the next generation of technology-enabled drug discovery and capitalises on the strength of the University of Oxford and the wider Oxford ecosystem.”
Marianne Mertens, Partner at Apollo Health Ventures, said, “Manipulating transcription factors in disease has long been seen as an intractable challenge, yet it holds tremendous promise for treating neurodegeneration and other life-limiting conditions. Scripta’s innovative approach could deliver transformational therapies and exemplifies one of Apollo’s key investment strategies: reprogramming diseased cells into healthy ones to tackle the root causes of age-related diseases and enable disease-modifying treatments.”
Find out more at scriptatherapeutics.com.
About Scripta Therapeutics
Scripta Therapeutics is an Oxford-based techbio company on a mission to deliver transformative therapeutics through cutting edge technology. By focusing on altering the activity of transcription factors – the master controllers of biology – Scripta is searching for drugs with the potential not just to delay disease progression, but to halt or even reverse it. Combining pharma, biotech, and disease biology expertise with the computational power to push the boundaries of biology, Scripta aims to deliver disease-modifying therapeutics that transform outcomes for patients.
Contacts
Media contact: Kat Arney [email protected]
