Lilly-Backed Ampersand Raises $65M for Preclinical Immunology and Computational Drug Discovery

Ampersand Biomedicines has raised $65 million in a Series B funding round, with participation from Eli Lilly and Company and founding firm Flagship Pioneering. The funding will be used to complete preclinical development of two immunological drug candidates—one for inflammation and the other for cancer. This is Ampersand’s first external financing since its launch with $50 million from Flagship Pioneering two years ago.

Ampersand’s CEO, Jason Gardner, stated that the two lead compounds are designed as improved versions of existing drugs, or “parent molecules,” with adjustments aimed at increasing potency and reducing off-target effects. Gardner described drug delivery as “one of the single biggest challenges in medicine today” and said Ampersand’s platform uses data from existing compounds to design and test new molecules in silico before moving to lab testing.

Ampersand’s drug discovery platform integrates machine learning and large training datasets to refine drug candidates. Gardner noted that the platform’s ability to analyze delivery challenges and model structural modifications is central to the company's approach.

Jason Gardner, CEO of Ampersand Biomedicines, discusses the company’s platform. Source: Flagship Pioneering, YouTube

The platform builds on its "Address, Navigate, Design" framework, introduced in 2023 when Flagship Pioneering committed $50 million to advance it. The platform is designed to create programmable medicines that act "only where needed"—specifically at the site of disease while minimizing off-target effects. It uses a computationally derived address map based on multi-omics data to identify ideal localizers for different organs, cells, and disease states, allowing the creation of targeted therapeutics that engage intended targets while reducing off-tissue toxicity.

In 2024, Ampersand acquired AbCheck, a Czech company specializing in antibody discovery. The company has also partnered with Pfizer since November to develop a targeted weight-loss drug, and Pioneering Medicines, Flagship Pioneering’s pharmaceutical partnering division, recently engaged Ampersand for another weight-loss drug discovery project.

Gardner declined to comment on whether Lilly’s investment signals a potential strategic partnership.

Topics: Startups & Deals