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Biotech Briefs: Luma Group, Electra Therapeutics, Sling Therapeutics, Kura Oncology & More 

The latest from small and Emerging Pharma companies featuring Luma Group, Electra Therapeutics, Sling Therapeutics, Kura Oncology, Schrodinger, and Adarx Pharmaceuticals. 

For news on the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies, see Global Briefs. 

* Luma Group Launches $410-M Life-Sciences Venture Capital Fund  
* Electra Therapeutics Files $320-M IPO for Inflammatory Drug  
* Sling Therapeutics Raises $123 M for Small-Molecule Thyroid Eye Disease Drug 
* Kura Oncology Launches Caspian Therapeutics with Small-Molecule Diabetes Focus 
* Schrodinger Launches Tectora Therapeutics with Focus on Oral Drugs for Immune-Mediated Diseases 
* Adarx Plans IPO for siRNA Drugs 

Luma Group Launches $410-M Life-Sciences Venture Capital Fund  
Luma Group, a New York-based investment firm focused on the life sciences, has announced the successful close of LumaBio Fund I, its inaugural life-sciences venture capital fund, with $410 million in committed capital, structured as a 15-year investment vehicle. Earlier this year (2026), LumaBio Fund I announced its first exit with the acquisition of Vaccine Company by Eli Lilly and Company in a transaction valued at up to $1.55 billion. This transaction reflects the firm’s strategy of identifying differentiated scientific platforms early and partnering with management teams through key value-creation milestones. 

Source: Luma Group 

Electra Therapeutics Files $320-M IPO for Inflammatory Drug  
Electra Therapeutics, a South San Francisco, California-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company, is seeking to raise up to $346.7 ​million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the US through selling 21.67 million shares of common stock at a target price $14 ⁠and $16 per share. The company is developing a new class of precision medicines for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases and cancer that targets signal regulatory proteins (SIRP), a family of cell surface receptors whose expression is restricted to specific immune-cell populations and increases upon activation to enable selective depletion of disease-driving cells while preserving normal immune function. The funds will be used to support ipsoprubart, a pan-SIRP monoclonal antibody designed to selectively deplete pathological myeloid cells and T cells via binding to SIRPa/ß1/g, which is currently in a global registrational program for patients with secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, an inflammatory disease. 

Source: Electra Therapeutics 

Sling Therapeutics Raises $123 M for Small-Molecule Thyroid Eye Disease Drug 
Sling Therapeutics, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company developing a late-stage oral small-molecule therapy for thyroid eye disease (TED), an autoimmune eye disease, has announced the close of $123 million in Series C financing.  

Proceeds from the financing will support the continued clinical advancement of linsitinib, an oral small-molecule inhibitor of IGF-1R (insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor), a validated target for the treatment of TED. Sling has commenced a global Phase III trial for adults with moderate-to-severe active TED. 

Source: Sling Therapeutics 

Kura Oncology Launches Caspian Therapeutics with Small-Molecule Diabetes Focus 
Kura Oncology, a San Diego-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on precision medicines for the treatment of cancer, has announced the launch of Caspian Therapeutics, a separately financed company established to advance small-molecule menin inhibitors for diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases. 

Separately, Caspian has raised $50 million in financing from a group of investors, including Eli Lilly and Company. Caspian’s lead asset is KO-7246, a menin inhibitor for treating chronic metabolic diseases, and the financing is expected to fund advancement of KO-7246 through investigational new drug (IND) application-enabling development and initial clinical proof-of-concept in diabetes, as well as to support the advancement of a second menin inhibitor development candidate for diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases. 

Source: Kura Oncology 

Schrodinger Launches Tectora Therapeutics with Focus on Oral Drugs for Immune-Mediated Diseases 
Schrödinger, a New York-based technology and bio/pharmaceutical company advancing drug-discovery and development through its proprietary computational platform and with an in-house and partnered pipeline, has announced the formation of Tectora, a new bio/pharmaceutical company it co-founded with New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and RA Capital Management, focused on developing innovative therapies for immunology and inflammation. Tectora concurrently closed a $55-million Series A investment from NEA and RA Capital. 

In connection with the transaction, Schrödinger contributed two early-stage small molecule programs (SDGR-4594 and SDGR-8139) and, in exchange, received an equity stake in Tectora and is also eligible to receive future milestones and royalties. Tectora will partner with Schrödinger’s drug-discovery experts and use Schrödinger’s computational platform at scale to further advance these programs to clinical candidates. 

Source: Schrödinger 

Adarx Plans IPO for siRNA Drugs 
Adarx Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on small interfering RNA (siRNA) drugs, has filed an initial public offering (IPO) in the US for an undisclosed sum, aiming to fund its pipeline of three clinical-stage programs and two advanced preclinical programs for siRNA drugs.  

Source: Adarx Pharmaceuticals