Ampersand Biomedicines Secures $65M Series B Financing Led by Flagship Pioneering and Eli Lilly to Advance Programmable Smart Biologics

On March 19, in Boston, Ampersand Biomedicines, a multi-product platform company developing smart drugs specifically targeting disease-specific sites rather than others, announced that it had secured $65 million in Series B financing from investors, including Ampersand's founding institution Flagship Pioneering, Eli Lilly and Company, and several new investors. Additionally, the company announced the advancement of two leading programs and a second obesity discovery collaboration.Partnership. (New Frontier! Flagship Launches Precision Programmable Drug Platform with $50 Million；Pfizer Collaborates with Flagship-Incubated Company to Develop Novel Obesity and Cancer Drugs）

Series B Financing Will Drive the Continued Development of Its Computationally Driven Address, Navigate, Determine (AND)™ Platform to Program AND Body™ Therapeutics, a New Category of Smart Biologics. AND Body Therapeutics Are Designed to Target Their Intended Site and Conditionally Activate Biology to Treat Disease, Enhancing Target Engagement While Limiting On-Target, Off-Tissue Side Effects. The Versatility of the AND Platform Enables Ampersand to Simultaneously Tackle Multiple Diseases. This Funding Will Also Accelerate Ampersand’s Initial Impactful Pipeline Programs, Including an Immuno-Inflammation Program and an Immuno-Oncology Program, Both of Which Are Planned to Enter IND-Enabling Studies in 2025.

Jason Gardner, Ph.D., CEO and Director of Ampersand Biomedics, and CEO Partner of Flagship Pioneering, stated:"Our fundraising is a key milestone in Ampersand's journey and affirms our vision of reimagining the possibilities of programmable biologics. We have made significant progress in accelerating R&D, secured two partnerships to expand the AND platform into the obesity field, and expanded our team of highly skilled leaders, scientists, and board members. We look forward to advancing our initial programs in immuno-inflammation and immuno-oncology to IND this year."-enabling study."

In the past year, Ampersand has also achieved other significant milestones, includingAmpersand Biomedicines Collaborates with Flagship's Internal Drug Discovery and Development Unit, Pioneering Medicines, on an Obesity-Focused Discovery Program. Last November, Ampersand partnered with Pfizer and Pioneering Medicines to develop next-generation programmable drugs targeting tissue-selective metabolic pathways, offering an effective approach to improving metabolic health. Last month, the company also added industry veteran Elizabeth Mily to its board of directors.

Avak Kahvejian, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of Ampersand Biomedics, and General Partner at Flagship Pioneering, stated:"At Ampersand, we have unlocked an entirely new way of programming biologics and, in the process, ushered in a new era of smarter medicines. We have reached a pivotal inflection point in the development of the AND platform, and now, with the initial progress of wholly-owned and collaborative programs, the tremendous impact of such a powerful platform is becoming evident. Looking ahead, as more tissue and cell targets are molecularly addressed, there remains a significant opportunity to expand our portfolio with new programs and partnerships as we seek to unlock the full potential of this new class of biologics."