Valink Therapeutics Takes the Stage: From Lab‑Lab to Life‑Saving
Remember those childhood days when you could build endless worlds with a handful of LEGO bricks? Valink Therapeutics (formerly LiliumX) is doing something pretty similar—only this time, it’s about piecing together the next‑gen antibody medicine that can give cancer and other diseases a run for their money.
What’s the Big Idea?
- A modular, rapid platform that cuts the time to develop a new therapeutic from months to one day.
- Bispecific antibody‑drug conjugates (bispecific ADCs) – think “double‑injection” targeted therapy that hits two cancer targets at once.
- Leveraging the same DNA‑shuffling tricks that Arne Scheu and Irsyad Khairil practiced while at Oxford, the platform is all about building and screening more powerful drugs in a fraction of the traditional time.
Investors (and Vibes)
In a near‑$8 M seed round, RV Invest led the pack, with backing from Hoxton Ventures, SynBioVen, Metaplanet, Acequia Capital, Magnet Ventures, Oxford Angel Fund and even Y Combinator (W21). Their confidence signals that the medical world sees a fresh, game‑changing technology.
New Name, New Direction
To reflect their shift from a platform builder to a full‑blown therapeutics enterprise, the founders dropped the “LiliumX” moniker and unveiled Valink Therapeutics. This change symbolizes a move beyond simple bispecificity to a platform that can add valency and linkage of multiple small molecules—essentially building “super‑charged” antibody‑drug conjugates.
Boardroom Power‑Ups
- Jose Munoz‑Olaya – Chief Scientific Officer, brings experience from F‑Star, Adaptate, Takeda, ready to turbocharge the drug discovery pipeline.
- Aleksei Zeifman – Board Member from our lead investor, RV Invest.
- Alexey Lugovskoy – Non‑Executive Director with 20+ years in oncology, autoimmunity, and fibrosis programs.
Alexey’s résumé reads like a bibliography of pharma champions: Diagonal, Atlas Venture, Dragonfly, Morphic, Merrimack, Biogen—all the heavy hitters that know how to turn science into silver‑lining for patients.
Office Love Letter from Dr. Scheu
“We started Valink Therapeutics with one vision: to craft drugs that are truly novel, bringing together features that together could tackle cancer in ways we never dreamed of,” says Dr. Arne Scheu, co‑founder and CEO. “Now we’re thrilled with a modular platform that blends multivalency, multispecificity, and drug‑conjugation—all while rebranding to signal that we’re not just about bispecificity anymore.”
He adds: “With the blessing of investors, Innovate UK, and the appointment of Alex and Jose, we’re stepping into a new era of drug discovery. Get ready for some serious breakthroughs.”
Aleksei’s Pep Talk
“Investing in Valink Therapeutics is like putting our faith in a super‑charged rocket,” Aleksei Zeifman said. “Our tech lets us build and screen complex biologics at scale—something we’re extremely excited about. With Alex and Jose joining us, the horizon looks brighter than ever.”
Why This Matters
Every cycle of drug development is a marathon. Valink Therapeutics is now promising a sprint—an accelerated path from concept to clinical trial. It’s not just the speed; it’s the precision that could finally give patients the therapies they need, sooner.
In short, Valink Therapeutics is rewriting the playbook on antibody drugs and is ready to put the “real” in “real‑time” therapeutic development. Keep your eyes on this space; the next wave of treatments could very well be hand‑crafted by their platform’s cockpit.
