Scripta Therapeutics raises $12m to flip the script on drug discovery

Oxford’s Scripta Therapeutics has emerged from stealth with a $12m seed round to pioneer a radically different approach to drug discovery — one that starts with biology itself instead of historical targets. The round was co-led by Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) and Apollo Health Ventures, with participation from AlbionVC, YZR Capital, Parkwalk Advisors, and support from Oxford University Innovation.

Rewiring disease biology

Founded by Peter Hamley, an industry veteran from Sanofi, AstraZeneca, and Samsara Therapeutics, together with Professor Noel Buckley of the University of Oxford, Scripta Therapeutics is seeking to discover drugs that can reprogramme disease rather than simply treat symptoms.

Scripta’s approach revolves around transcription factors (TFs), the master regulators that control gene expression and determine how cells behave in health and disease. By combining AI, imaging, and patient-derived models, the company builds “disease maps” that decode how transcriptional networks drive pathology.

As Hamley explained, “We’re flipping the script on conventional target-based drug discovery to find therapies that genuinely move the needle for patients. By focusing on understanding and manipulating the master controllers of biology, we’re searching for drugs with the potential not just to delay disease progression but to stop it in its tracks.”

According to Scripta, the company’s philosophy challenges decades of drug development orthodoxy. The literature, it argues, tends to focus investment on a few well-known targets, creating a “herding effect” that leaves large swathes of disease biology unexplored.

Instead, Scripta begins with gene network analysis, identifying how diseases alter entire systems of transcriptional activity rather than focusing on a single molecule. Through this biology-up approach, Scripta’s AI models trace how disruptions ripple across gene networks, pinpointing the key transcription factors that could restore balance when modulated.

There are around 1,600 transcription factors encoded in the human genome, yet the vast majority remain undrugged and poorly characterized. Scripta’s research highlights that although transcription factors account for a disproportionate share of disease-causing mutations, they are largely absent from today’s drug pipelines. The company’s platform aims to change that by identifying indirect routes to modulate transcription factors, for example, targeting upstream regulators or protein–protein interactions.

This function-first strategy, combining multiomics, AI, and patient-derived disease models, creates a lab-in-the-loop discovery system that runs “from biology to drugs and back again,” delivering what Scripta calls disease-modifying therapeutics.

Initial focus on neurodegeneration

Scripta’s first disease area is neurodegeneration, where the unmet need remains vast and conventional approaches have struggled. The company’s analyses of Alzheimer’s patient data revealed numerous transcription factors associated with the disease that have been largely ignored in the literature, providing a rich pipeline of novel opportunities.

The company’s biology-agnostic platform, however, can extend to other indications — from cancer and fibrosis to inflammation — where transcriptional dysregulation plays a central role.

Scripta also announced the appointment of Ray Barlow, CEO of SynOx Therapeutics and a veteran of Amgen, J&J, and Kiadis Pharma, as Non-Executive Director.

Barlow commented: “Scripta brings fresh thinking and a novel biology-led, data-rich approach to a traditionally challenging area of drug discovery. I am looking forward to working with this outstanding team to deliver effective new medicines that are long overdue for so many patients.”

Part of a growing UK TechBio movement

Scripta’s emergence from stealth coincides with a period of rapid growth for the UK’s TechBio sector, where AI, computation, and biology are merging into a scalable model for drug discovery and health innovation.

According to the BioIndustry Association’s (BIA) 2025 TechBio report, UK TechBio companies have raised over £1.5 billion in VC funding between 2020 and 2024, with Oxford and Cambridge at the heart of this ecosystem. Notable recent deals include Isomorphic Labs’ £449m Series A, CHARM Therapeutics’ £59m Series B, and Relation Therapeutics’ £40m seed round.

BIA Managing Director Jane Wall notes that the sector is “consistently accounting for over 40% of all UK biotech deals,” but faces a “scale-up gap” due to a limited domestic late-stage capital to take companies from proof-of-concept to commercial maturity.

Scripta’s $12m seed round, backed by leading investors in both deep tech and life sciences, illustrates growing confidence in the UK’s ability to generate globally competitive techbio ventures, particularly those emerging from Oxford’s innovation cluster.