Scripta Therapeutics, a techbio startup pioneering a new approach to drug discovery, emerged from stealth with a $12M seed round to revolutionize the way diseases are understood and treated.
The financing is co-led by Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) and Apollo Health Ventures, with participation from AlbionVC, YZR Capital, Parkwalk Advisors, and support from Oxford University Innovation.
Scripta integrates AI, advanced imaging, and patient-derived models to build and modulate detailed disease maps rooted in transcriptional networks, introducing a biology-first paradigm aimed at decoding and reversing disease mechanisms.
The company’s platform centers on modulating transcription factor activity, which controls gene expression and drives disease processes. By combining experimental biology with AI-powered data analysis, Scripta identifies therapeutic candidates capable of reprogramming diseased cells to restore healthy states.
While the platform can be applied broadly, initial efforts target Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, in collaboration with Professor Noel Buckley, Scientific Co-Founder and Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Oxford.
Peter Hamley, Founder and CEO of Scripta, said, “We’re flipping the script on conventional target-based drug discovery to find therapies that genuinely move the needle for patients. By focusing on understanding and manipulating the master controllers of biology, we’re searching for drugs with the potential not just to delay disease progression but to stop it in its tracks.”
Experienced biotech leader Ray Barlow, CEO of SynOx Therapeutics, joins the board as Non-Executive Director. He said, “Scripta brings fresh thinking and a novel biology-led, data-rich approach to a traditionally challenging area of drug discovery. I am looking forward to working with this outstanding team to deliver effective new medicines that are long overdue for so many patients.”
Claire Brown, Partner at OSE and Scripta board member, stated, “We’re proud to be backing Scripta – a brilliant team that exemplifies the next generation of technology-enabled drug discovery and capitalises on the strength of the University of Oxford and the wider Oxford ecosystem.”
Marianne Mertens, Partner at Apollo Health Ventures, added, “Manipulating transcription factors in disease has long been seen as an intractable challenge, yet it holds tremendous promise for treating neurodegeneration and other life-limiting conditions. Scripta’s innovative approach could deliver transformational therapies and exemplifies one of Apollo’s key investment strategies: reprogramming diseased cells into healthy ones to tackle the root causes of age-related diseases and enable disease-modifying treatments.”