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- Araris Biotech
Araris Biotech Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Araris Biotech was acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical for $1.1B in March 2025.
Araris Biotech acquisition price
$1.1B
Acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical · Mar 2025
Cumulative funding Araris Biotech raised
$43M
across 4 funding rounds
Key investors in Araris Biotech
redalpine
VI Partners
b2venture
Schroder Adveq
Pureos Bioventures
4BIO Capital
Venture Kick
Kinled Holding
About Araris Biotech
Araris Biotech AG is a Swiss biotechnology company, spun out of the Paul Scherrer Institute in 2019, that develops next-generation antibody-drug conjugates using its proprietary AraLinQ linker platform. The technology attaches drug payloads to off-the-shelf antibodies without prior engineering, aiming to produce more uniform, stable, and potent candidates with improved safety over conventional ADCs. The company's pipeline targets hematological and solid tumors, including a lead candidate for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
Founded
2019
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Licensing
Valuation
$1.1B (acquired Mar 2025)
Sectors
Araris Biotech Acquisition
Araris Biotech was acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical for $1.1B on 17 March 2025.
Before the acquisition Araris Biotech had raised $43M across 4 funding rounds.
Araris Biotech AG, a Swiss biotechnology company spun out from the Paul-Scherrer-Institute in 2019, develops next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using its proprietary AraLinQ™ linker platform, which enables highly uniform, stable, and potent candidates with improved safety and antitumor effects over conventional ADCs in preclinical studies. The company is advancing three preclinical products targeting hematological and solid tumors, expected to enter clinical trials between 2025 and 2026. Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a Japan-based R&D-driven specialty pharmaceutical company and subsidiary of Otsuka, focuses on oncology and immune-related diseases, marketing drugs like Lytgobi, Lonsurf, and Inqovi in the U.S. and other anticancer medicines in Japan. On March 17, 2025, Taiho and Araris announced a definitive share purchase agreement for Taiho's full acquisition of Araris, following a November 2023 research collaboration to develop ADCs against Taiho-selected targets using AraLinQ™. Taiho will pay $400 million upfront at closing, with up to $740 million in additional milestone payments, valuing the deal at up to $1.14 billion and propelling Araris to unicorn status. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2025 after necessary procedures, integrating Araris' technology, expertise, and pipeline to expand Taiho's oncology portfolio and drug discovery capabilities. Taiho President Masayuki Kobayashi stated the addition of Araris' innovative ADC platform will strengthen Taiho's global patient contributions. Araris CEO Dragan Grabulovski highlighted AraLinQ™ as a quantum leap for precise payload delivery with reduced toxicity. The deal occurs amid surging ADC interest, with recent transactions like Johnson & Johnson's $2 billion Ambrx acquisition in 2024 and Roche's and ArriVent's over-$1 billion licenses in early 2025.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Mar 2025 | Strategic M&A | $1.1B |
Araris Biotech Funding History
Araris Biotech has raised a total of $43M across 4 funding rounds.
Araris Biotech's first fundraising round was a $100K pre-seed round in June 2019. The most recent completed round was a $24M Series A in October 2022.
Araris Biotech funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2022 | Series A | 4BIO Capital (lead); Pureos Bioventures (lead); Schroders Capital (lead); redalpine; b2venture; Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation; Wille Finance; VI Partners | $24M | Araris Biotech AG is a Swiss biotechnology company developing next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using a novel linker technology that enables attachment of payloads to off-the-shelf antibodies without prior engineering. The company focuses on ADCs for hematological and solid tumors, including a lead candidate for relapsed or refractory diffuse B cell lymphoma. In April 2022, Araris closed a $24 million Series A financing round led by 4BIO Capital and Pureos Bioventures, with participation from b2venture (btov Partners), Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation, redalpine, Schroders Capital (Schroder Adveq), VI Partners, and Wille Finance. This followed a CHF 15.2 million (~$17.8 million) seed round in October 2020 led by Pureos Bioventures with redalpine, VI Partners, and Schroder Adveq. The $24 million was to advance lead programs into preclinical and clinical development and build a proprietary ADC pipeline. Total funding across rounds reached approximately $43-44 million by 2023-2024, including additional Series A tranches like one in 2023 with Samsung Ventures. Araris expanded through partnerships, such as a 2023 research collaboration with Chugai Pharmaceutical offering up to $780 million in milestones plus royalties, acquisition of a Nectin-4 antibody from ARS, and ADC patents from Innate Pharma. In March 2025, Taiho Pharmaceutical agreed to acquire Araris for an upfront $400 million plus up to $740 million in milestones (total potential $1.14 billion), expected to close in H1 2025. Schroders Capital, an investor, expects $24.3 million distribution at closing (7.2x multiple on its capital) with potential up to $43.6 million (20.2x). This exit highlights Araris' progress in the booming ADC sector amid deals like Johnson & Johnson's $2 billion Ambrx acquisition and others exceeding $1 billion. |
| Oct 2020 | Seed | Pureos Bioventures (lead); redalpine; Schroder Adveq; b2venture; Kinled Holding; VI Partners; 4BIO Capital | $17M | Araris Biotech AG, a spin-off from ETH Zurich and Paul Scherrer Institute, raised CHF 15.2 million in a seed financing round on October 22, 2020, including an additional CHF 12.7 million. The round was led by Pureos Bioventures with participation from 4BIO Capital, btov Partners, Redalpine, VI Partners, and Schroder Adveq. Proceeds funded advancement of lead antibody-drug conjugates into preclinical and clinical development and building a proprietary pipeline of ADC compounds. Araris pioneers a novel ADC-linker technology enabling stoichiometric and stable attachment of toxic payloads to off-the-shelf antibodies without engineering, resulting in stable, monomeric ADCs with well-defined drug-to-antibody ratios. |
| Aug 2019 | Seed | redalpine; Schroder Adveq; VI Partners | $3M | Araris Biotech, a spin-off from the Paul-Scherrer-Institute founded in 2019, closed an oversubscribed seed financing round of CHF 2.5 million on August 20, 2019, with participation from Redalpine, Schroder Adveq, and VI Partners. The funds supported the development of a pipeline of proprietary antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using its novel linker ADC technology. Araris' co-founders, including CEO Dr. Philipp Spycher and chairman Dr. Dragan Grabulovski, highlighted the strong investor interest and plans to generate key proof-of-principle data. |
| Jun 2019 | Pre-seed | Venture Kick (lead) | $100K | - |
Who has invested in Araris Biotech?
11 investors have backed Araris Biotech across its funding rounds, including redalpine, VI Partners, b2venture, Schroder Adveq, Pureos Bioventures and 4BIO Capital.
Lead investors include 4BIO Capital, Pureos Bioventures, Schroders Capital and Venture Kick.
Araris Biotech Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Participant | Aug 2019 | ||
| 3 | Participant | Aug 2019 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Aug 2019 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Oct 2020 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Oct 2020 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Oct 2020 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Jun 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2022 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2022 | ||
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialAraris Biotech Competitors
Araris Biotech competitors include listed companies like Strides Pharma, MannKind, Blue Jet Healthcare and Odyssey Therapeutics, and private ones like La Renon and Antekin Biotech.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $483M | $104M | $1.2B | 2.4x | ||
| Publicly listed | $349M | $43M | $1.2B | 3.3x | ||
| Publicly listed | $98M | $37M | $1.1B | 9.9x | ||
| Publicly listed | $3M | ($151M) | $1.1B | 973.1x | ||
| Private | $180M | $38M | $1.2B | 6.5x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.2B | - |
Araris Biotech Public Comps
Araris Biotech is no longer listed, but its public comps include Strides Pharma, MannKind, Blue Jet Healthcare, Odyssey Therapeutics, Cosmo, Savara, Seaport Therapeutics, Apnimed, Ribolia and Philogen.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $483M | $104M | 2.7x | 2.4x | 12.7x | 12.6x | |||
| $349M | $43M | 3.9x | 3.3x | 31.6x | - | |||
| $98M | $37M | 11.1x | 9.9x | 29.7x | 31.3x | |||
| $3M | ($151M) | 279.0x | 973.1x | (5.5x) | (4.8x) | |||
| $120M | $13M | 8.0x | 7.8x | 76.4x | 70.8x | |||
| - | ($123M) | - | 505.5x | (7.9x) | - | |||
| - | ($84M) | - | - | (10.7x) | (6.5x) | |||
| $38M | ($2M) | 34.4x | - | (571.3x) | - | |||
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Common questions about Araris Biotech
| When was Araris Biotech founded? | Araris Biotech was founded in 2019. |
| Where is Araris Biotech headquartered? | Araris Biotech is headquartered in Switzerland. |
| Is Araris Biotech publicly listed? | No, Araris Biotech was acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical in March 2025. |
| Who acquired Araris Biotech? | Araris Biotech was acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical in March 2025. |
| How much was Araris Biotech acquired for? | Araris Biotech was acquired for $1.1B in March 2025. |
| How much funding has Araris Biotech raised? | Araris Biotech has raised $43M across 4 funding rounds. |
| What was Araris Biotech's last funding round? | Araris Biotech's last funding round was a $24M Series A in October 2022, led by 4BIO Capital, Pureos Bioventures and Schroders Capital. |
| Who are Araris Biotech's investors? | Araris Biotech's investors include redalpine, VI Partners, Schroder Adveq, b2venture, Pureos Bioventures, 4BIO Capital, Venture Kick, Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation, Wille Finance, Kinled Holding and 1 other. |
| Which companies are comparable to Araris Biotech? | Companies comparable to Araris Biotech include Strides Pharma, MannKind, Blue Jet Healthcare, Odyssey Therapeutics, La Renon and Antekin Biotech. |
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