Leiden, Netherlands-based Anaheim Bio launched with an oversubscribed EUR 40 million (USD 44.6 million) Series A financing backed by Droia Ventures, Frazier Life Sciences, RTW Investments, Novartis Venture Fund, RV Invest, and Thuja Capital. The funding will support IND-enabling studies and advance ANA-1, a small-molecule inhibitor for calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD), into Phase I in 2027, with runway into 2028.
ANA-1 is designed to lower extracellular pyrophosphate (PPi), potentially addressing the formation of calcium pyrophosphate crystals that drive CPPD, a form of inflammatory arthritis affecting an estimated 4%–7% of adults in Europe and the US. Current treatments primarily control inflammation and symptoms, with no approved therapy that removes or dissolves the underlying crystal deposits.
Anaheim was formed from programs spun out of Alesta Therapeutics before its acquisition by BioMarin in 2026 and is backed by several of Alesta's former investors.
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