Capital Accumulation! Two Major Immunology Companies Merge to Seek a Way Forward

Previously, on June 28, 2024, Alumis Inc. (a precision immunology company supported and incubated by Foresite Capital) went public on the U.S. NASDAQ, raising approximately $260 million. As of August 27, 2024, the company’s market value was $685 million. However, by February 6, 2025, the market value had declined to $359 million. (The name “Alumis” comes from “alumer,” meaning “to alleviate,” and “immunis,” meaning “immunology.”)

In March 2024, Alumis completed a $259 million Series C financing. The company planned to use these funds to initiate the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for its candidate drug ESK-001, a TYK2 (Tyrosine Kinase 2) inhibitor used to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and non-infectious uveitis in autoimmune diseases. The Series C investors included existing investors Foresite Capital, Samsara BioCapital, and venBio Partners, with participation from Cormorant Asset Management, SR One, Lilly Asia Ventures, Nextech, Ally Bridge Group, HBM Healthcare Investments, Omega Funds, Piper Heartland Healthcare, as well as affiliated funds from existing investors AyurMaya and Matrix Capital Management.

Before the IPO, AyurMaya Capital Management Fund, LP held 21%, and Foresite Capital Management held 32.6%.

The President and CEO of Alumis is Martin Babler, a well-known veteran in the pharmaceutical field.

Now, back to March 2021: the TYK2 inhibitor developed by FronThera International, a subsidiary of HaiSo Pharmaceutical, was sold to Alumis (formerly FL2021-001, Inc./Esker Therapeutics) for an upfront payment of $60 million and up to $120 million in milestone payments. This deal was led by Foresite Capital, which incubated Alumis.

It is worth noting that BMS’s TYK2 competitor, Sotyktu (Deucravacitinib, an oral TYK2 inhibitor) has not yet shown significant growth in performance. In Q4 2023, its sales were $63 million, with total sales for 2023 reaching $170 million. For the first half of 2024, sales were $97 million, with an expected full-year total of $246 million.

On February 6, 2025, Alumis and ACELYRIN, two recently listed companies in the autoimmune field, announced their merger. Shareholders of Alumis and ACELYRIN will hold approximately 55% and 45% of the combined company, respectively. As of December 31, 2024, the two companies had approximately $737 million in cash on hand. After ACELYRIN’s setbacks, its key pipeline asset became the IGF-1R molecule Lonigutamab.

As of February 6, ACELYRIN’s market capitalization had dropped to just $191 million. On December 11, 2024, the company officially announced the termination of its fastest-progressing candidate drug, izokibep (an IL-17A inhibitor nanobody). Chuangxiang Biotech previously held related rights.

New drug development is a high-risk endeavor—hot fields do not always remain lucrative, as seen with newco and ADC. On February 4, ACELYRIN rejected an unsolicited acquisition proposal from Concentra Biosciences. The firm is backed by the Chinese-led consortium Tang Capital Partners, founded by Kevin Tang (Chinese name: 唐庆年). The offer included a $3.00 per share cash buyout plus a contingent value right (CVR).

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Reference

[1]. https://www.alumis.com/file.cfm/18/docs/esk-001_acr2024_poster_rna-seq_stride_vf.pdf；

[2]. https://www.alumis.com/file.cfm/18/docs/alumis_pub_2_for_website_aad_pres_vf.pdf

[3].www.sec.gov；