MiroBio

About MiroBio

MiroBio was a clinical-stage biotechnology company that developed a class of therapeutics, known as checkpoint agonist antibodies, to restore balance to the immune system and treat autoimmune diseases. The company was acquired by Gilead Sciences in August 2022 for approximately $405 million. MiroBio will continue its operations in Oxford, UK, as a subsidiary of Gilead.

The company was spun out of the University of Oxford in 2019, based on over 15 years of research by its scientific founders, Simon Davis, Professor of Molecular Immunology, and Richard Cornall, Nuffield Professor of Clinical Medicine. Their work on immune cell signaling led to the development of MiroBio's proprietary discovery platform, I-ReSToRE (REceptor Selection and Targeting to Reinstate immune Equilibrium). This platform is designed to identify and develop agonist antibodies that target immune inhibitory receptors to suppress inflammatory immune responses. The founding team also included Tim Funnell, who served as VP of Operations, and Chris Paluch, who led research and drug discovery.

MiroBio's business model focused on advancing its pipeline of checkpoint agonists through clinical trials. Before its acquisition, the company had raised a total of $132 million over three funding rounds from investors including Oxford Science Enterprises, Samsara BioCapital, Medicxi, SR One, Advent Life Sciences, OrbiMed, and Monograph. Its lead product candidate, MB272, is a selective agonist of the BTLA immune receptor that entered Phase 1 clinical trials in August 2022. This antibody targets T, B, and dendritic cells to inhibit their activation. The company's pipeline also includes MB151, a PD-1 agonist in preclinical development, and other early-stage programs.