Nilo Therapeutics

About Nilo Therapeutics

Nilo Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing a new class of medicines for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by targeting the body's neural circuits. The firm officially launched in October 2025, emerging from stealth with $101 million in a Series A financing round. This funding was co-led by The Column Group, DCVC Bio, and Lux Capital, with additional participation from the Gates Foundation and Alexandria Venture Investments.

The company was founded by a team of prominent scientists: Charles Zuker, Ph.D. (Columbia University), Ruslan Medzhitov, Ph.D. (Yale University), and Steve Liberles, Ph.D. (Harvard University). Nilo's scientific basis is rooted in discoveries from Dr. Zuker's laboratory, which identified specific vagal neurons that regulate systemic immune activation and inflammation. The company's strategy is to create drugs that harness these "master regulator" brain-body circuits to centrally restore immune homeostasis, a departure from conventional immunosuppression methods. By modulating multiple immune pathways in concert, this approach aims to reduce the risk of therapeutic resistance and offer broader impact across a spectrum of diseases.

Nilo's business model is focused on the research and development of these novel therapies. The capital raised is allocated to establishing its laboratories in New York City, expanding its R&D team, and advancing its preclinical programs. The company operates as a private entity in the drug discovery and biotechnology industry. The leadership team includes CEO Kim Seth, Ph.D., who has over 25 years of biopharma industry experience, and Chief Scientific Officer Laurens Kruidenier, Ph.D., an expert in immunology and drug discovery.