Sharjah's CE-Ventures Invests in Oyster Therapeutics' $60 Million Series A

Oyster, previously known as Kesmalea Therapeutics, is developing targeted protein degraders, drugs that get the body to break down specific harmful proteins rather than simply blocking them. Its first focus is tau-driven neurodegenerative diseases. Abnormal build-up of tau defines a group of conditions known as tauopathies, which includes Alzheimer's disease. The company said the new money will take its lead programme, an oral degrader designed to reach the brain, towards clinical development.

The deal adds to a growing life sciences portfolio at one of the Gulf's longer-running corporate venture investors. CE-Ventures said its existing holdings cover drug discovery, genetic medicine and targeted therapeutics, and that Oyster brings neuroscience and protein degradation into the mix. The announcement did not name the round's lead investor or the other members of the syndicate, or say how much CE-Ventures put in.

Rob Johnson, Oyster's chief executive, said the financing would speed up the tau programme while the company develops its broader SELFTAC platform, which he said could support "a new generation of medicines for diseases of the central nervous system."

Damir Illich, vice-president for life sciences at CE-Ventures, said the platform tries to solve a known problem in the field by pairing the power of bifunctional degraders with properties that let a drug be taken orally and cross into the brain. Tushar Singhvi, deputy chief executive and head of investments at Crescent Enterprises, said the firm backs technologies that address areas of significant unmet medical need.

Kesmalea raised a £25 million Series A in 2022, led by Syncona alongside Oxford Science Enterprises, according to Syncona's portfolio listing. The new financing comes under the Oyster name. The company has not given a timeline for its first clinical trial.