Biotech
5 Early-Stage Therapeutics Startups Developing New Drug Modalities
DealBio tracks early-stage therapeutics startups across Europe and North America. These 5 are developing differentiated treatment formats across oncology, RNA biology and kidney disease.
- Therapeutics
- Oncology
- Drug Delivery
- RNA Therapeutics
- Cell Therapy
DealBio tracks early-stage therapeutics startups across Europe and North America. These 5 are developing differentiated treatment formats across oncology, RNA biology and kidney disease.
New drug modalities matter when the format creates a therapeutic advantage that established approaches struggle to deliver. That advantage can come from tighter targeting, local activation, access to a new biological control point or a more selective way to modulate an intracellular pathway.
Across this group, modality choice is closely tied to the treatment problem. The most useful early evidence therefore connects the mechanism to a practical development advantage rather than novelty alone.
At a Glance
- GlioCARTSwitzerland2025Dual-action CAR-T
- AdcoTxUnited Kingdom2026Antibody-drug conjugate
- LumoxNetherlands2025Light-activated targeted therapy
- Umlaut.bioGermany2024RNA-modification inhibitors
- Alvara TherapeuticsDenmark2026Keap1-Nrf2 small molecules
01
GlioCART
Developing CAR-T therapy targeting glioblastoma and tumor-supporting immune cells.
- Country
Switzerland- Founded
- 2025
- Sector
- Biotech
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
Why GlioCART stands out
GlioCART’s lead therapy combines tumor recognition with local immune reprogramming. Its CAR-SGRP construct eradicated mosaic glioblastoma in mice in published research, and the startup has exclusive worldwide rights to the underlying University of Basel technology.
The dual mechanism addresses tumor heterogeneity by pairing direct CAR-T killing with local CD47 blockade that activates nearby myeloid cells.
What GlioCART is building
GlioCART is developing EGFRvIII-targeted CAR-T cells that also release SGRP, a CD47 blocker, inside the tumor environment.
The approach is designed to extend immune pressure beyond directly targeted tumor cells while limiting the need for systemic CD47 blockade.
02
AdcoTx
Developing an antibody-linked cancer drug for colorectal cancer.
- Country
United Kingdom- Founded
- 2026
- Sector
- Biotech
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
Why AdcoTx stands out
AdcoTx is advancing an LGR5-targeted antibody from University of Cambridge cancer research into an antibody-drug conjugate for colorectal cancer. The targeting component has already progressed through preclinical work, giving the startup a defined base for payload and linker optimization.
CEO Edward Cartwright brings repeat-founder experience, while Marc and Maike de la Roche connect the program to long-running Cambridge research in tumor biology and immunology.
What AdcoTx is building
AdcoTx is developing an antibody-drug conjugate that uses an LGR5-targeting antibody to carry a cell-killing payload into colorectal cancer cells.
The program is focused on choosing a payload and linker combination that can widen the therapeutic window while preserving tumor selectivity.
03
Lumox
Developing a light-activated cancer therapy designed to spare healthy tissue.
- Country
Netherlands- Founded
- 2025
- Sector
- Biotech
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
Why Lumox stands out
Lumox has secured more than €4.5 million from KWF for its first patient study in head and neck cancer and holds an exclusive licence to two Utrecht University patents covering the core technology.
Its light-activated platform has also eradicated oral tumors in multiple veterinary cat patients, providing translational evidence for a treatment designed around local activation.
What Lumox is building
Lumox pairs a tumor-targeting nanobody with a light-activated drug. The nanobody carries the drug to EGFR-positive cancer cells, and clinicians then apply red light locally to activate treatment at the tumor.
The first indication is head and neck cancer, where tumors are accessible for local illumination and EGFR is frequently overexpressed.
Developing drugs that block disease-linked chemical changes to RNA.
- Country
Germany- Founded
- 2024
- Sector
- Biotech
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
- Founders
Why Umlaut.bio stands out
Umlaut.bio has raised approximately €3 million from biotechnology investors and is building on a 2025 Cell paper that validates its founding RNA target biology. Its leadership also brings late-stage drug-development and prior exit experience.
The startup uses conventional small molecules to target enzymes that chemically modify transfer RNA, creating a drug-development route into RNA biology without delivering RNA as the medicine.
What Umlaut.bio is building
Umlaut.bio is developing inhibitors of tRNA-modifying enzymes that influence the stability of disease-promoting messenger RNA.
Its platform combines high-throughput compound screening with mass spectrometry to identify compounds and confirm target inhibition across cancer and inflammatory-disease programs.
Developing small-molecule medicines for chronic kidney disease.
- Country
Denmark- Founded
- 2026
- Sector
- Biotech
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
- Founders
Why Alvara Therapeutics stands out
Alvara Therapeutics starts with 11 years of Keap1-Nrf2 research and several cell-active inhibitor series. Entry into BioInnovation Institute’s Venture Lab adds a €560,000 convertible loan allocation and company-building support around an already defined medicinal-chemistry program.
Co-founder Anders Bach brings the underlying target and chemistry research, while Marie Cadot adds pharmaceutical and medicinal-chemistry development experience.
What Alvara Therapeutics is building
Alvara is developing non-covalent small molecules that inhibit the Keap1-Nrf2 interaction and activate cellular antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses.
The first program targets chronic kidney disease, where oxidative stress and inflammation contribute to progressive tissue damage.
Deal Sourcing for Investors
Looking for More Startups Like These?
DealBio helps investment teams discover, research, and monitor early-stage healthcare and life sciences startups aligned with their investment criteria.
Investment perspective
These modalities are solving different drug-development bottlenecks: antigen heterogeneity, payload delivery, spatial activation, access to RNA biology and selective control of an intracellular pathway. The investment thesis is therefore not novelty on its own. It is whether the chosen format gives the therapy better control over where, when or how it acts.
For the CAR-T, antibody-drug conjugate and light-activated programs, spatial selectivity is central because it directly affects how much tumor exposure can be achieved without increasing damage to healthy tissue. For the RNA-modification and Keap1-Nrf2 programs, the harder question is intracellular target engagement at drug-like exposures. Those mechanism-specific experiments, rather than the modality label, are what will determine whether each approach creates a genuine therapeutic advantage.
Methodology
DealBio selected these five early-stage therapeutics startups because each is developing a distinct treatment modality around a defined disease problem. The selection spans engineered cell therapy, antibody-drug conjugates, light-activated targeted therapy, RNA-targeting small molecules and pathway-selective medicines.
DealBio builds its Startup Briefs using publicly available startup materials, ecosystem sources, market references and professional profiles.