British BioTech startup CHARM Therapeutics, announces closing of an oversubscribed Series B funding round, raising €68.5 million to advance its next generation menin inhibitor into clinical development.
The funding round was co-led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and SR One, with participation from existing investors OrbiMed, F-Prime, Khosla Ventures and NVIDIA.
Gary D. Glick, Ph.D., Executive Chair CHARM Therapeutics, said: “Securing funding from such a high-quality investor syndicate is a strong validation of our approach to overcoming menin inhibitor resistance. Current menin inhibitors show promise in AML treatment but are fundamentally limited by the rapid emergence of resistance mutations that cause treatment failure.
“Our next-generation inhibitors, discovered using our proprietary DragonFold AI platform, are specifically designed to overcome these resistance mutations and deliver the durable responses that patients need. This programme represents a significant opportunity to transform outcomes for patients, and we look forward to initiating clinical development early next year.”
Founded in 2025 by Laksh Aithani and David Baker, CHARM Therapeutics is a BioTech company innovating the next generation of precision oncology treatments through its proprietary AI-driven drug discovery platform.
CHARM’s lead programme is menin inhibitor for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Unlike first-generation menin inhibitors that rapidly lose potency due to menin resistance mutations, CHARM’s candidates are reportedly designed to maintain potency against all known clinical resistance mutations, potentially delivering the durable responses that patients need.
CHARM has raised over €128 million from leading international investors including New Enterprise Associates (NEA), SR One, OrbiMed, F-Prime, Khosla Ventures and NVIDIA. The company is advancing its lead menin inhibitor candidate toward clinical development in early 2026.
Matthew McAviney, M.D., Partner at New Enterprise Associates, added: “We are thrilled to support CHARM as it transitions into the clinic with its highly promising next-generation menin inhibitor. The strength of the preclinical data and the clarity of the clinical development plan make CHARM well positioned to drive meaningful impact for patients facing treatment-resistant cancers. We’re proud to support CHARM during this next phase of growth.”
AML is a rapidly progressing and aggressive blood cancer with poor prognosis for many patients. Menin inhibitors have recently emerged as a clinically-validated therapeutic class acting through restoration of normal gene regulation and triggering differentiation or death of cancer cells.
However, CHARM says first-generation therapies are limited by rapid emergence of resistance mutations in the menin protein, which reduce efficacy and lead to relapse and disease progression. Further, the efficacy of some first generation menin inhibitors may be limited by safety risks including QTc prolongation and poor pharmaceutical properties such as the potential for drug-drug interactions and requirement for high doses.
Using its proprietary protein-ligand co-folding platform DragonFold, CHARM has identified a development candidate that allegedly retains potency against all publicly described clinical resistance mutations, demonstrating robust tumor regression in preclinical models. This molecule is predicted to be efficacious at low human doses without increase of QTc interval, and does not inhibit enzymes responsible for drug-drug interactions.
Mahesh Kudari, M.D., Senior Associate at SR One, said: “CHARM has leveraged its proprietary protein-ligand co-folding platform DragonFold to rapidly identify highly potent, next-generation menin inhibitors that are active against resistant mutations. We are excited to support progression of this program into clinical trials and look forward to working with the team.”
As CHARM advances its lead menin inhibitor candidate towards the clinic, the Company has strengthened its board with the appointment of Briggs Morrison, M.D. as non-executive director. Briggs brings expertise in menin inhibitor development and understanding of the AML therapeutic landscape from his previous role as CEO at Syndax, the company that developed the first FDA approved menin inhibitor, revumenib.
In addition, Kim Blackwell, M.D. joins the board as non-executive director, contributing oncology and clinical development experience which will be critical in the development of CHARM’s clinical programme.
Following this Series B round, Matthew McAviney M.D., Partner at NEA and Mahesh Kudari, M.D., Senior Associate at SR One, will also join the board as non-executive directors, supporting CHARM’s strategic execution as it advances toward clinical trials.