Five neurology startups, including Oyster Therapeutics, raise around $450 million in recent weeks

Five neurology-focused startups have together raised around $450 million in the last few weeks, BioPharma Dive reported on biopharmadive.com biopharmadive.combiopharmadive.combiopharmadive.comOpen source ↗. One of them is London-based Oyster Therapeutics, which said it raised $60 million in a Series A round led by 4BIO Capital. Eight other parties took part, including Eli Lilly.

Funding for brain drug startups

According to data compiled by BioPharma Dive, startups focused on the central nervous system took in $1.09 billion, $1.58 billion and $1.9 billion between 2023 and 2025 from 26 prolific venture firms. The 2026 total is smaller, at $664 million by mid-November.

Oyster's aim is to degrade a protein tied to Alzheimer's disease. Four other neuroscience biotechs, Setara Therapeutics, Delix Therapeutics, VectorY Therapeutics and Neurosterix, disclosed fundraising since the end of October. Those rounds collectively brought in around $400 million.

Cell therapy data and market reaction

At the American College of Rheumatology conference this week, cell therapy developers presented data on immune disorders such as lupus and systemic sclerosis biopharmadive.combiopharmadive.combiopharmadive.comOpen source ↗. Cabaletta Bio reported early, encouraging results from a trial of its therapy rese-cel across three diseases, and its share price has risen roughly 5% since the market close last week.

Shares of Nkarta, Allogene Therapeutics and Fate Therapeutics were all down more than 20% from Nov. 6 to Nov. 12. CRISPR Therapeutics declined nearly 15%.

PepGen's experimental treatment for a muscle-wasting illness drew the strongest response. According to the company, a mid-stage study in people with myotonic dystrophy type 1 found that its drug helped repair, on average, 46.5% of the splicing errors that are a genetic hallmark of the disease. PepGen described this as the highest level of splicing correction ever in a multiple-dose study of a drug for this condition, and its stock rose by more than 90%.

Leerink Partners analyst Joseph Schwartz wrote that the figure is higher than what researchers have seen with rival therapies from Novartis and Dyne Therapeutics. He added that cross-trial comparisons remain imperfect biopharmadive.combiopharmadive.combiopharmadive.comOpen source ↗.