Athera Biotechnologies

About Athera Biotechnologies

Athera Biotechnologies was a Stockholm-based, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that operated from its founding in 2002 until the cessation of its activities in 2021. The firm was established based on scientific research from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and concentrated on developing anti-inflammatory biologic drug candidates for immunovascular diseases.

The company's primary business was the research and development of novel antibody therapeutics targeting the inflammatory processes that drive cardiovascular disease (CVD). Athera's lead product candidate was a fully human monoclonal antibody named PC-mAb (later ATH3G10), designed to mimic the body's natural anti-inflammatory response to reduce the risk of complications following vascular events like a heart attack. The business model was centered on advancing this asset through clinical trials to demonstrate efficacy, with the ultimate goal of being acquired by or partnering with a major pharmaceutical company. Alongside its main therapeutic, the company developed a companion diagnostic tool, the CVDefine® kit, a biomarker test to identify patients who would most likely benefit from the treatment.

Athera's journey was marked by several key funding milestones to support its capital-intensive clinical programs. In June 2013, it secured a significant €6 million grant from the European Union's FP7 program to co-fund the development of PC-mAb. This was followed by multiple financing rounds from a consortium of investors that included Industrifonden, The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen), and Linc AB. Notable funding events included a SEK 24 million financing in 2015, a SEK 57 million round in 2017, and a SEK 55 million issue in 2019 to finance a critical Phase 2 clinical trial. The Phase 2 study for its drug candidate, ATH3G10, began in 2019 and successfully dosed its final patient by April 2020, aiming to show a reduction in the risk of heart failure after a myocardial infarction. However, following the reporting of the Phase 2 study results, Athera Biotechnologies ceased operations in 2021, marking the end of its nearly two-decade-long pursuit of a new treatment for cardiovascular disease.