EpiBiologics announced it has closed a $107 million Series B financing to advance a pipeline of bispecific antibodies designed to selectively degrade extracellular protein targets in oncology and immunology. The round was co-led by GV and Johnson & Johnson, through Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, with participation from new and existing investors.
New investors included Novartis Venture Fund, Aulis Capital, Avego BioScience Capital, and Samsara BioCapital, with JJDC also joining as a new investor. Existing investors Polaris Partners, Digitalis Ventures, Taiho Ventures, Vivo Capital, Codon Capital, and Mission BioCapital also participated.
The San Mateo, California-based company is developing tissue-selective extracellular protein degradation therapies through its EpiTAC platform, a modular bispecific antibody system intended to drive targeted degradation of disease-driving extracellular membrane and soluble proteins.
EpiBiologics’ lead program, EPI-326, is a tissue-selective bispecific antibody designed to degrade oncogenic forms of EGFR in a mutation-agnostic manner. The company said EPI-326 is intended to localize degradation to tumors while sparing healthy tissue, and that preclinical studies have shown durable efficacy with favorable safety and pharmacokinetics supporting both monotherapy and combination approaches across multiple cancer types.
EpiBiologics said it plans to initiate a first-in-human clinical trial of EPI-326 in early 2026 in non-small cell lung cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The company also highlighted recent leadership additions in 2025, appointing Eric Humke as chief medical officer and Aaron Mishel as chief financial officer.
Alongside the financing, EpiBiologics expanded its board, adding Anika Gupta Vatsa (GV), Laura Brass (Novartis Venture Fund), Gaurav Aggarwal (Vivo Capital), and a JJDC representative as new board members. Nisa Leung (Aulis), Eric Pham (Avego), and Mitchell Mutz (Samsara) will join as board observers.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’re delighted to work with this distinguished group of investors as we enter the next stage of EpiBiologics’ growth. This financing allows us to advance our pipeline of novel bispecific antibodies to selectively degrade disease-driving membrane and soluble targets in oncology and immunology. Our lead program, EPI-326, is moving rapidly to the clinic as a highly differentiated therapeutic to address substantial unmet needs for patients with EGFR-driven cancers.”
Ann Lee-Karlon, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, EpiBiologics
“As an early investor, I’ve been impressed by EpiBiologics’ rapid scientific and operational progress as they’ve built the EpiTAC platform and portfolio in oncology, immunology, and beyond. Anika and I are excited to co-lead this financing as the company translates this innovation into transformative medicines for patients.”
David Schenkein, M.D., General Partner, GV
