Strand Therapeutics has raised $153 million in a Series B round to continue advancing its programmable mRNA therapeutic pipeline. The round was led by Swedish investment firm Kinnevik and included new investors Regeneron Ventures, ICONIQ, Amgen Ventures, Alderline Group (Alex Gorsky's family office), JIC-VGI, LG Technology Ventures, and Gradiant Corporation. Existing backers FPV Ventures, Playground Global, Eli Lilly and Company, ANRI, and Potentum also returned for this round. This brings Strand’s total funding to over $250 million. As part of the round, Kinnevik’s Ala Alenazi, Ph.D., will join Strand's board.
The new capital will primarily support clinical progress for STX-001, the company’s lead candidate that delivers the cytokine IL-12 directly into tumors using self-replicating mRNA. Strand recently presented promising Phase 1 data at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, which showed RECIST responses, cases of complete metabolic response, and prolonged disease stabilization in treatment-resistant patients—all with a favorable safety profile.
Strand’s focus on programmable mRNA positions it at the frontier of cancer immunotherapy, where precision and control are key. Unlike conventional mRNA platforms, Strand’s self-replicating mRNA and synthetic logic circuits enable targeted delivery and durable expression of therapeutic payloads. This unique capability could offer new treatment avenues for patients who have exhausted existing options.
“We believe programmable RNA is the next frontier in therapeutics, and Strand has built the leading platform to unlock it,” said Christian Scherrer, Senior Investment Director and Head of Health and Bio at Kinnevik. “Their early clinical data is outstanding, and the systemic delivery capability has the potential to reshape how we treat disease, starting with cancer.”
In addition to expanding STX-001 clinical trials, Strand will allocate the Series B funds toward advancing its pipeline, including STX-003—a systemically administered, tumor-targeted mRNA therapy that avoids off-target delivery. Preclinical results, shared at the 2025 AACR and ASGCT meetings, highlighted STX-003’s ability to activate IL-12 expression in tumors while sparing the liver, a first in the field.
The company is also aiming to build out its internal manufacturing capabilities and expand its team, signaling an inflection point as it moves from early clinical development toward broader applications in oncology and beyond.
Strand was founded out of MIT and is led by co-founders Jake Becraft, Ph.D., and Tasuku Kitada, Ph.D., alongside a team of experienced synthetic biologists. The company has built a modular platform that combines next-gen RNA modalities like circular and self-replicating RNA with logic-based genetic programming.
“With support from our investors, we’re advancing our vision of developing safe, effective, and accessible therapies through programmable genetic medicines, especially for those patients with few treatment options,” said CEO Jake Becraft. “Now is an exciting period of expansion for our existing clinical work, as well as the exciting breakthrough assets in our pipeline.”
Strand is positioning itself not just as a biotech firm, but as the infrastructure provider for a new class of therapies—what it calls the "operating system" for programmable medicines. Its lead program, STX-001, is in a Phase 1/2 trial following FDA clearance in December 2023. Initial data suggests it may offer real benefit to patients with advanced solid tumors, including immune activation beyond the injection site.
The Series B brought in a mix of institutional and strategic investors, including biotech names like Amgen Ventures and Regeneron Ventures. Kinnevik, the round’s lead, brings a track record of investing in long-term healthcare innovation.
To date, Strand’s funding also includes support from Eli Lilly, Playground Global, FPV Ventures, ANRI, and Potentum. The blend of biotech, family office, and venture capital participation reflects growing interest in programmable medicines as a high-potential category.
