AbbVie Ventures and Lumination Capital joining existing lead investors Samsara BioCapital and Lightstone Ventures
Financing supports TNFα development candidate nomination and initiation of IND-enabling studies, alongside advancement of oral TL1A inhibitors into lead optimization
Proprietary QUAISAR platform, combined with approach to Physical AI, continues to drive rapid design of optimized oral drug candidates
WATERTOWN, Mass., Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PsiThera, a biotechnology company harnessing biologically relevant protein states and physical artificial intelligence to create oral drugs for immune and inflammatory diseases, today announced the closing of a $25 million financing. New investors AbbVie Ventures and Lumination Capital participated, along with existing lead investors Samsara BioCapital and Lightstone Ventures, and other existing investors. In connection with the financing, Claire Leurent, Ph.D., MBA, Managing Director at AbbVie Ventures, has joined PsiThera’s Board of Directors.
Proceeds from the financing are expected to fund operations, supporting development candidate nomination and the initiation of IND-enabling studies for the company’s lead oral small molecule TNFα inhibitor, as well as advancement of its oral TL1A program into lead optimization.
The company’s proprietary QUAISAR platform combines physics-based molecular simulation, machine learning, and experimental biophysics into a single closed-loop discovery engine to design novel small molecule therapeutics more efficiently. QUAISAR models protein motion to identify and target transient binding pockets that conventional structure-based design cannot see, enabling the design of small molecules for targets that have been difficult to address with oral therapies. Using this platform, PsiThera advanced the company’s lead TNFα program from hit identification to lead optimization in just four months.
“Our goal is to bring the efficacy of leading biologics into novel oral medicines to improve on their therapeutic profiles. This financing accelerates our progress toward that vision as we advance our oral TNFα program toward development candidate nomination and clinical initiation and expand our pipeline of differentiated immunology therapeutics, starting with TL1A,” said Eric D. Shaff, President and Chief Executive Officer of PsiThera. “We are grateful for the continued support of our existing investors and welcome AbbVie Ventures and Lumination Capital.”
Injectable anti-TNFα biologic therapies are approved across a broad range of immune-mediated diseases. However, an oral therapeutic could have broad application, both as monotherapy and as a combination partner, and provide an additional treatment option to the many patients who have not yet started biologic therapy.
PsiThera’s oral TNFα inhibitors are designed to achieve a differentiated profile to improve the therapeutic index relative to injectables or other oral TNFα inhibitors in development, supporting best-in-class potential.
“PsiThera has brought together seasoned biopharma leadership, experienced drug hunters, and immunology and computational scientists around a platform that can find and exploit protein states that conventional approaches cannot effectively drug,” said Christina Isacson, Ph.D., Chair of PsiThera’s Board of Directors and Partner at Lightstone Ventures. “Our progress with TNFα and TL1A is illustrative of the power of the platform. With this financing, the Company is well-positioned to advance its lead programs and extend its platform across a broader immunology pipeline.”
About PsiThera
PsiThera is a biotechnology company harnessing biologically relevant protein states and physical artificial intelligence to create oral drugs for immune and inflammatory diseases, therapeutic areas historically reliant on injectables. By integrating biophysics, computational modeling, and mechanistic biology through its QUAISAR platform, PsiThera’s expert drug hunters discover new therapeutic opportunities and optimized drugs. The company’s initial programs target clinically validated cytokine pathways, including TNFα, TL1A, and IL-6. PsiThera is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.psithera.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Investors:
Carlo Tanzi, Ph.D.
Kendall Investor Relations
ctanzi@kendallir.com
Media:
Kotaro Yoshida
Argot Partners
kotaro@argotpartners.com
