Soley Therapeutics Raises $200M Series C to Advance Cell Stress Sensing Platform and AML Drug Candidate
核心洞察
Soley Therapeutics (搜索) secured $200 million in Series C funding to advance its proprietary cell stress sensing platform and pipeline of novel therapeutics into clinical trials.
The company's lead oncology asset SOL-001 (搜索) for acute myeloid leukemia is on track for IND filing with the FDA in 2026, while second candidate SOL-002 (搜索) enters IND-enabling studies.
The platform uses AI and computer vision to analyze cellular stress responses across thousands of features, screening hundreds of thousands of compounds weekly to discover first-in-class therapeutics.
Soley Therapeutics (搜索) announced a $200 million Series C financing round to propel its proprietary cell stress sensing platform and novel therapeutic pipeline into clinical development. The San Francisco-based biotech will use the funding to advance multiple programs toward late-stage clinical trials, with particular focus on its lead oncology assets targeting cellular stress mechanisms.
Novel Approach to Drug Discovery
The company's platform represents a departure from traditional target-first drug discovery approaches. "Many complex diseases, including cancer and neurodegeneration, are defined by how cells respond to chronic stress rather than by a single genetic driver or target," explained Yerem Yeghiazarians, CEO and cofounder of Soley Therapeutics (搜索). "By focusing on cellular stress sensing, we can work upstream of individual targets and observe how drugs reshape the flow of information inside cells."
This approach allows the company to discover novel mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities that are often missed by conventional methods, particularly in diseases where the underlying biology is poorly understood.
Lead Programs Advance Toward Clinic
A significant portion of the funding will support SOL-001 (搜索), the company's drug candidate for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Soley expects to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for SOL-001 with the US Food and Drug Administration and enter clinical trials in 2026. The company's second oncology candidate, SOL-002 (搜索) for solid tumors, is also progressing into IND-enabling studies.
Technology Platform and Capabilities
The Soley platform captures time-resolved responses across thousands of features in human cells, then uses proprietary computer vision and artificial intelligence to convert those features into compact, structured signatures. The system screens hundreds of thousands of compounds per week and generates reproducible data at scale using first-in-class automation and robotics.
"We built Soley to measure how living human cells, in health and disease, respond to drug exposure and determine their fate," said Yeghiazarians. "We then translate this cellular information into a robust portfolio of novel drug candidates across a broad range of disease areas and indications."
Broader Pipeline Applications
While oncology represents the initial clinical focus, the platform is designed for broad applicability across diseases. "In addition to our lead oncology programs, Soley has active and emerging programs in areas such as neurodegeneration, metabolic disease, and hair regeneration, where restoring healthier cell states may be beneficial," Yeghiazarians noted. These efforts are at different stages of discovery and preclinical development.
Investment and Strategic Direction
The financing round was led by Surveyor Capital (搜索), a Citadel company, with participation from new investors HRTG Partners (搜索) and RWN Management (搜索). Existing investors including Doug Leone Family Fund (搜索), Breyer Capital (搜索), and GordonMD Global Investments (搜索) also contributed to the round.
The company's financing strategy is milestone-driven, with this round positioning Soley to generate meaningful clinical and translational data. "Future financing decisions will be guided by progress in the clinic, opportunities for strategic partnerships, and the pace at which we choose to advance additional programs from the platform," Yeghiazarians explained.
The funding will support continued platform scale-up and advancement of non-oncology stress-reducing drug candidates for neurodegenerative disorders and metabolic diseases, demonstrating the versatility of the cell stress sensing approach across multiple therapeutic areas.