Oxford's OMass Therapeutics raises $310m Series C led by Bain, Forbion and Novo Holdings

OMass Therapeutics, an Oxford biotech, has closed a £230 million ($310 million) Series C, the company said on 15 October¹. The round was co-led by three new investors, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion and Novo Holdings, and is the second-largest raised by a European biotech this year¹.

The round and the investors

Janus Henderson Investors, SV Health Investors and Jefferson Life Sciences joined the three lead investors as new backers¹. Every existing shareholder also took part, a group that includes Syncona, GV, Sanofi Ventures and Northpond Ventures¹. The financing lifts the total OMass has raised to approximately £360 million ($475 million)¹.

Only one European biotech financing this year has been larger: the $2.1 billion Series B taken by Isomorphic Labs, another UK company¹. Two of the three largest private rounds in European biotech in 2026 have therefore gone to UK companies built on discovery platforms.

Where the money goes

Most of the cash is earmarked for OMS1620, an early-stage melanocortin-2 (MC2) receptor antagonist for disorders driven by excess adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)¹. The company has engineered the molecule to stay bound to the receptor for a long period, so that it keeps working as ACTH levels climb, which OMass believes could make it best in class¹. Phase 2 trials are planned in ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome and congenital adrenal hyperplasia¹.

The round also funds first clinical testing of an SLC15A4 inhibitor for lupus and other conditions linked to interferon overproduction and pathogenic B-cell activation¹.

Both programmes came from OdyssION, the company's in-house discovery platform, which pairs native mass spectrometry with biochemistry and custom chemistry to find molecules that bind a target and to read out their functional effects¹. Forbion principal Audrey Cacaly described the pipeline as "built entirely through internal discovery"¹.

What it means for the market

The competitive picture is set by a much larger deal. Vertex gained its own MC2 antagonist, atumelnant, through its recently closed $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics; atumelnant is in late-stage development for congenital adrenal hyperplasia and in phase 2 for ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome¹. OMass is raising private money to chase an asset class that a large buyer has already paid heavily to own, and it starts behind on timelines.

The platform has drawn pharma money before. Genentech, part of Roche, has committed up to $420 million to an OMass project aimed at new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease¹. For investors watching UK biotech, the round shows specialist funds and corporate venture arms willing to write large late-private cheques rather than push companies to list early.

Chief executive Ros Deegan said the 10-year-old company now has "the resources to translate that progress into a portfolio of clinically differentiated medicines for patients"¹.

Caveats

OMS1620 is still in early clinical development, and the lupus candidate has yet to enter the clinic¹. The next test of the valuation will be phase 2 data in the two adrenal indications, set against a rival that is already in late-stage trials¹.