Granite will focus on two antibody therapies, both targeting crucial players in the inflammatory cascade to address autoimmune diseases.
Granite Bio entered the immunology and inflammation arena on Thursday with $100 million in the bank and a mission to advance new treatments for autoimmune conditions.
Based in Basel, Switzerland, Granite has a star-studded set of backers. Its founding investors include Versant Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund, which led its $30 million series A round. Life sciences–focused venture capital firm Forbion and Sanofi Ventures are also supporting the start-up, spearheading a series B financing cycle that brought in $70 million in capital.
Granite’s pipeline will be anchored by two potentially first-in-class antibody therapies. The first, dubbed GRT-001, addresses autoimmunity and inflammation by targeting and depleting monocytes, cells that play an important role in the inflammatory cascade.
According to the biotech, previous studies have shown that GRT-001 is safe and well-tolerated, and can “efficiently and dose-dependently” lower pro-inflammatory monocytes—all while sparing so-called tissue-resident macrophages, which are crucial for maintaining balance in tissues. Granite is currently testing GRT-001 in a Phase Ia study with healthy volunteers and plans to push the asset into Phase Ib for inflammatory bowel disease later this year.
Granite’s second lead asset, GRT-002, targets the IL-3 cytokine, which is involved in autoimmune inflammation and type II inflammation. GRT-002 is still in preclinical testing, but the startup plans on studying it for itch and allergies. Clinical trials are planned for 2026.
With these assets, the biotech is “pioneering a new approach to tackling inflammation, autoimmunity, and fibrosis by addressing fundamental disease drivers at their source,” Granite President and CEO Patrick Loustau said in a statement on Thursday.
Joining Loustau is Chief Medical Officer Dominik Hartl, who is an alum of Novartis and Roche, and Chief Scientific Officer Gijs van den Brink, who previously worked at Roche and GSK.
Granite joins the handful of startups that have launched this year. In January, fellow Versant company Helicore debuted with $65 million in series A funds to play in the crowded obesity space. The biotech is advancing HCR-188, a GIP-targeting monoclonal antibody, which is set to enter the clinic and deliver an early readout this year.
January likewise saw the launch of Verdiva Bio—also in obesity, and with $411 million in starting capital from Forbion, Lilly Asia Ventures and others—and the GSK-backed Ouro Medicines, which seeks to compete in the immunology space with its pipeline of T cell engagers for chronic disorders.
Meanwhile, Flagship Pioneering’s newest project Etiome also emerged from stealth on Thursday to use its AI-driven discovery platform to target diseases and block their progression “before it becomes too late.” Etiome has $50 million in starting capital.
