Windward Bio Secures $165M for Clinical Trials in Asthma, COPD & More

Immunology continues to be one of the hottest areas for biotech investment, and Windward Bio is joining in with $165 in fresh capital to support a pipeline led by a drug in pivotal testing that could demonstrate its dosing advantage over a blockbuster respiratory medicine.

Windward’s drug, WIN378, is an antibody designed to block TSLP, a signaling protein that can drive immunological disorders, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This target is already addressed by Tezspire, an antibody drug from partners Amgen and AstraZeneca that’s administered as a monthly injection. Windward’s drug is an ultra-long acting antibody designed for dosing every six months.

Beyond the dosing advantage, Basel, Switzerland-based Windward claims WIN378 offers the potential to be best in efficacy. The Phase 2 dose-ranging portion of a Phase 2/3 study is ongoing with preliminary data expected in the second half of this year. The Phase 3 portion is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. A Phase 2 test in COPD is expected to start in the current quarter.

Windward faces competition in the pursuit of longer-acting TSLP-blocking antibody drugs. Upstream Bio is testing its drug verekitug for dosing every three months and every six months. Generate Biomedicines went public in February, raising capital for a TSLP-blocking antibody whose design is intended to enable dosing at six-month intervals.

Windward launched last year, unveiling $200 million and lead program WIN378, which was licensed from Kelun-Biotech and Harbour Biomed. In late 2025, the company struck a deal for rights to a long-acting antibody from Qyuns Therapeutics. Now called WIN027, this drug is designed to target both TSLP and IL-13, a dual action with potential applications in treating asthma, COPD, and atopic dermatitis. WIN027 is in Phase 1 testing with data expected by the end of this year. The company said the new financing will support multiple proof-of-concept studies across respiratory and dermatology indications starting in the fourth quarter of this year.

Windward said its latest fundraise is a crossover round, a type of financing that could support a company seeking an IPO. OrbiMed led the financing, which included participation from RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Sanofi Ventures, Harbour BioMed as well as earlier investors. The company said the new capital extends its cash runway, enabling it to reach multiple clinical trial readouts in the next 12 months.

“This financing further strengthens our balance sheet and allows us to advance our programs of next-generation therapies for patients living with serious respiratory and dermatological diseases,” Windward CEO Luca Santarelli said in a prepared statement.

Here’s a recap of other recent biotech financings:

—Signadori Bio unveiled €11 million to support development of new cancer immunotherapies based on engineering monocytes in vivo to regulate and enhance myeloid anti-tumor activity. The Paris-based startup says approach is intended to harnessing the innate immune system to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. The capital will support advancement of lead program SiB-2101 toward lead candidate nomination and further development of Signadori’s proprietary monocyte engineering platform. Taiho Ventures and earlier investors Sofinnova Partners and Invivo Partners participated in Signadori’s seed round.

—London-based CytoSpire Therapeutics raised £61 million (about $83 million) for its pipeline of gamma delta T cell engagers in preclinical development for solid and liquid tumors. Lead program CYT X300 is in development for EGFR-positive solid tumors, including colorectal, head and neck, and non-small cell lung cancers. 4BIO Capital led CytoSpire’s Series A round.

—Latus Bio added $43 million in financing as it prepares to bring two gene therapies into the clinic. These therapies come from a proprietary technology platform that engineers capsids, the protein shells that envelop the genetic cargo of a gene therapy. Latus says its capsids enable efficient delivery at low doses to improve safety and manufacturability of a gene therapy.

LTS-201 is designed to reduce expression of DNA repair enzyme MSH3 to slow the DNA repeats that lead to Huntington’s disease. LTS-101 is in development for late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 (CLN2), a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder. 8VC led Latus’s new financing, which extends its Series A round to $97 million total.

—Coultreon Biopharma secured $125 million to finance Phase 2 testing of lead program COL-5671 in psoriasis and ulcerative colitis. The oral small molecule is a selective inhibitor of a novel target called SIK3. That drug and others were acquired from Galapagos last year. Sofinnova Investments led Coultreon’s Series A financing with Forbion and Novo Holdings as co-leads.

—AI drug design company Fathom Pharmaceuticals, formerly Atommap, unveiled its new name along with $47 million to scale its capabilities and expand its internal discovery programs in “high-impact diseases” that were not disclosed. In addition to its own drug pipeline, Fathom has multiple external drug discovery partnerships. Sutter Hill Ventures led Fathom’s Series A round.

—New Flagship Pioneering startup Serif Biomedicines launched with $50 million to develop a new class of medicines based on modified DNA. Serif says this approach brings together the best features of messenger RNA and gene therapy while mitigating their limitations. Without naming specific diseases, Serif said its research focuses on genetically defined diseases and reprogramming the immune system.

—Tortugas Neuroscience launched with $106 million to continue Phase 2 testing of lead programs in development for schizophrenia and tinnitus. Both drug candidates were in-licensed from Hansoh Pharmaceutical. The capital spans a seed round led by Cure Ventures and a Series A financing co-led by Cure Ventures, The Column Group, and AN Venture Partners.

—Vision disorders biotech Ray Therapeutics raised $125 million to support a pipeline led by RTx-015, a gene therapy in Phase 2/3 testing for retinitis pigmentosa. The Series B round, which was led by Janus Henderson Investors, will also support clinical development of RTx-021 in Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy. Ray’s last financing was a $100 million Series A round in 2023.

—Mbiomics raised €12 million (about $14 million) as it prepares to bring lead microbiome therapeutic candidate MBX-116 into the clinic as a co-therapy alongside a checkpoint inhibitor for the treatment of melanoma. The Munich-based startup said the new capital is the third close of its Series A financing, bringing the round’s total to €30 million (about $35.1 million).

—Storm Therapeutics raised $56 million to support Phase 2 testing of lead program STC-15, an RNA-modifying enzyme inhibitor in development for treating select sarcomas. The new financing is a Series C round funded by its existing investors.

—Medical device company Sonire Therapeutics raised $18 million to fund clinical development of its high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy system for thermal ablation of tumors. Unlike conventional ultrasound-guided HIFU systems, Sonire says its technology offers real-time visualization of the treatment site, requires no anesthesia, and can be performed on an outpatient basis. Santé Ventures led Sonire’s Series A financing.

—Terremoto Biosciences closed $108 million in Series C financing for its pipeline of drugs for cancer and rare diseases. Lead oncology program TER-2013, a selective inhibitor of a target called AKT1, is in Phase 1 development for certain solid tumors. TER-4480, in development for the rare bleeding disorder hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, is on track to enter the clinic this year.

—Beeline Medicines revealed $300 million to support a pipeline led by afimetoran, a once-daily oral small molecule designed to inhibit toll-like receptors 7 and 8 to treat lupus. The company expects to complete Phase 2 testing in the second half of this year, setting the stage to proceed to pivotal testing. Beeline formed last year with five programs in-licensed from Bristol Myers Squibb. Bain Capital led the startup’s Series A financing.

—Adcendo, a developer of antibody drug conjugates for cancer, closed $75 million in new financing to continue clinical development of three programs. Jeito Capital led Adcendo’s Series C round.

—Neomorph raised $100 million to support the development of molecular glue degraders for targets long deemed undruggable. Lead program NEO-811 is designed to lead to targeted degradation of ARNT, a protein whose excessive activity is associated with some cancers. A Phase 1/2 test is ongoing. Deerfield Management led Neomorph’s new round, a Series B financing.

—Metabolic disorders biotech Nula Therapeutics launched to develop small molecules that restore function of the nuclear envelope. Nula is supported by $10 million from Apollo Health Ventures and up to $20 million from the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Lead program NLT-101 is expected to enter Phase 1 testing later this year.

—Vivatides Therapeutics landed $54 million for its work developing RNA therapies capable of addressing targets beyond the liver. The company, which splits its operations between Suzhou, China, and Boston, said the capital will go toward building its platform drug delivery technology and fund the preclinical research that could support investigational new drug applications. Specific disease targets remain undisclosed. Vivatides’s Series A round was co-led by Qiming Venture Partners and a “leading industry fund” that was not named.

—Oricell raised $110 million to support its work developing CAR T therapies for solid tumors. Lead program Ori-101 is in early clinical development for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer. The round was co-led by Vivo Capital, Beijing Medical and Health Care Industry Investment Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, and an unnamed global healthcare fund.

—Beijing-based Syneron Bio raised $150 million to apply its proprietary technology toward the discovery of macrocyclic peptides and to advance drug candidates into the clinic for diseases that remain undisclosed. Syneron said the Series B round was led by an unnamed international life science fund with co-lead participation from Decheng Capital and CDH VGC.

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