Cleara Biotech is a technology company.
Cleara Biotech has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round.
Cleara Biotech has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Cleara Biotech has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Cleara Biotech's investors include Apollo Health Ventures.
Cleara Biotech is a Netherlands-based biopharmaceutical R&D company founded in 2018, specializing in peptide-based therapies that selectively target and eliminate specific subtypes of senescent cells to treat cancer and chronic diseases.[1][2][3] The company serves patients with conditions like late-stage p53-driven cancer metastases and age-related chronic diseases by addressing "scarred" senescence—a pathological subtype characterized by PML/FOXO4 nuclear foci and specific p53 phosphorylation—using its proprietary FOXO4/p53 D-amino acid peptide platform.[1][3][5] Its lead candidates, CL04177 and CL04183, demonstrate favorable pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution, plasma stability, and efficacy in preclinical models, including a 29% overall survival increase in geriatric mice, positioning Cleara for precision medicine with companion biomarkers.[3][5] Currently in preclinical development toward IND/IMPD readiness, Cleara shows growth momentum through a $2.5 million seed round in 2022 and ongoing Series-A pursuits.[5][6]
Cleara Biotech emerged from academic discoveries at University Medical Center Utrecht, where scientific founders identified that senescent cells impair tissue function and promote cancer metastases in mice, published in *Cell* (2017) and *Cancer Discovery* (2016).[1] Founded in 2018 as Cleara Biotech B.V. to translate these findings into therapies, the company advanced FOXO4-based anti-senescence peptides from third- to fourth-generation candidates optimized for human use, recognizing senescence as diverse subtypes rather than a uniform target.[1][5][6] Key early traction included optimizing CL04177 and CL04183 during 2018-2022 research, securing $2.5 million seed financing led by Apollo Health Ventures in 2022, and a 2024 capital injection enabling GLP-tox studies with CROs and Phase 1 trial designs.[5][6] These milestones humanize Cleara as a bridge from university labs to patient-impacting precision drugs.[1][5]
Cleara stands out in senolytics through subtype-specific targeting rather than broad cell clearance, leveraging deep molecular insights into senescence pathways:
Cleara rides the cellular rejuvenation therapeutics trend, targeting senescence—a hallmark of aging linked to chronic diseases and cancer progression—within a market developing senolytics, telomere therapies, and mitochondrial interventions.[2] Timing aligns with rising interest in precision senolytics post-2010s academic breakthroughs, fueled by aging populations and failures of broad therapies, where subtype specificity addresses safety concerns.[1][3][6] Market forces like longevity investing (e.g., seed backers Apollo Health Ventures, Longevity Tech Fund) and biotech demand for niche oncology tools favor Cleara, influencing the ecosystem by pioneering biomarker-guided anti-senescence for late-stage cancers and healthspan extension.[2][5][6]
Cleara is primed for Series-A funding or pharma partnerships to launch CL04183 into Phase 1 trials, focusing on safety/efficacy in p53-driven metastases while expanding scarred senescence applications to chronic diseases.[5] Trends like AI-accelerated peptide design, regulatory nods for aging indications, and senolytic combo therapies will shape its path, potentially amplifying influence in rejuvenation biotech. As a university-spinout pioneer, Cleara could redefine senescence clearance, delivering the subtype precision that unlocks safer healthspan therapies from lab discoveries to clinics.[1][3][5]
Cleara Biotech has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in September 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2022 | $3.0M Seed | Apollo Health Ventures |