Star Therapeutics Raises $200M Led by OrbiMed and Janus Henderson to Push Pipeline Into the Clinic

South San Francisco-based Star Therapeutics has raised $200 million in a private financing co-led by OrbiMed and Janus Henderson Investors, the company announced on October 23.

Agent Capital, Catalio Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management, New Leaf Venture Partners, NYBC Ventures, RA Capital Management, Redmile, Sofinnova Investments, Soleus Capital and a leading sovereign wealth fund also participated. Vish Sridharan, M.D., of Janus Henderson Investors is joining the board as an observer.

A Team With a Track Record

Star is led by founder and CEO Adam Rosenthal, Ph.D. According to the company, its team has invented four first-in-class antibody therapies, including Enjaymo, the first approved drug for cold agglutinin disease, while the other three are each in Phase 3 development.

In July 2026, Star sold its subsidiary Vega Therapeutics to Incyte for up to $2 billion. That deal included latarcibart (VGA039), a monoclonal antibody in Phase 3 for von Willebrand disease. Spinout Electra Therapeutics began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ETRA in September 2026.

Companies built by the team and later acquired include Vega Therapeutics, DICE Therapeutics, True North Therapeutics and iPierian.

What the $200M Funds

Star will use the proceeds to advance its current preclinical programs into the clinic and expand its pipeline with additional programs.

"Our mission is to develop best-in-disease therapies at scale for the millions of patients," Rosenthal said.

"Star stood out to us because of the strength of its team," said Sridharan, assistant portfolio manager at Janus Henderson. OrbiMed managing partner Carl L. Gordon, Ph.D., CFA, said, "Star has the team, scientific approach and pipeline to build on those achievements."

Source

BioSpace — "Star Therapeutics Announces $200 Million Private Financing to Advance Pipeline of Best-in-Disease Therapies"