Matchpoint Therapeutics has closed a $150M Series B, co-led by Nextech Invest and Norwest. Sanofi Ventures, the T1D Fund, Atlas Venture and Access Biotechnology also participated.
The Watertown, Massachusetts biotech will use the proceeds to move its lead asset, MPT-062, into human trials. The compound is an oral T cell modulator that chief executive Andre Turenne describes as potentially first-in-class for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Clinical development is expected to begin next year.
How the drugs get designed
Matchpoint’s engine is a platform called Advanced Covalent Exploration, or ACE, which uses machine learning models to design small-molecule drugs that bind to disease-causing proteins historically considered undruggable. Covalent drugs form a chemical bond with their target rather than simply docking, which can produce more durable effects.
The approach has already attracted pharma money. Novartis paid $60M in July 2025 for access to the ACE platform to advance oral medicines for inflammatory conditions, under a deal that could carry up to $1B in milestones plus royalties.
Big pharma’s appetite for oral autoimmune drugs
Autoimmune and inflammatory disease has become one of the most competitive areas in biotech, and oral therapies command a premium over injectables for obvious reasons – adherence, cost of administration, patient preference.
Matchpoint’s Series A, led by Sanofi Ventures in October 2022, was $100M. The larger follow-on and the Novartis arrangement suggest the platform has produced enough validated chemistry to justify the step up.
