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Cleara Biotech is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company based in Utrecht, Netherlands, that develops targeted therapeutic interventions addressing cellular senescence to treat late-stage cancers and age-related chronic diseases. The startup focuses on advancing proprietary FOXO4-based D-amino acid peptides, specifically utilizing its lead preclinical candidates CL04177 and CL04183, which are designed to selectively eliminate senescent cells within specific patient pathologies. Operating with a core leadership team of five executives, the enterprise has successfully raised $2.5 million in seed financing to progress its precision medicine tools and develop associated biomarkers for specific senescence subtypes. The organization's venture capital syndicate features several notable institutional backers, including lead founding investor Apollo Health Ventures, alongside Cambrian BioPharma, Curie Capital, ROM Utrecht Region, and the Longevity Tech Fund. Cleara Biotech was officially founded in 2018 by scientific researchers Peter de Keizer and Marco Demaria.
Cleara Biotech has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round.
Cleara Biotech has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Cleara Biotech has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in September 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2022 | $3M Seed | Apollo Health Ventures | Curie Capital, Longevity Tech Fund, ROM Utrecht Region | Announced |
Cleara Biotech is a Netherlands-based biopharmaceutical R&D company founded in 2018, specializing in peptide-based therapies that selectively target and eliminate specific subtypes of senescent cells to treat cancer and chronic diseases.[1][2][3] The company serves patients with conditions like late-stage p53-driven cancer metastases and age-related chronic diseases by addressing "scarred" senescence—a pathological subtype characterized by PML/FOXO4 nuclear foci and specific p53 phosphorylation—using its proprietary FOXO4/p53 D-amino acid peptide platform.[1][3][5] Its lead candidates, CL04177 and CL04183, demonstrate favorable pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution, plasma stability, and efficacy in preclinical models, including a 29% overall survival increase in geriatric mice, positioning Cleara for precision medicine with companion biomarkers.[3][5] Currently in preclinical development toward IND/IMPD readiness, Cleara shows growth momentum through a $2.5 million seed round in 2022 and ongoing Series-A pursuits.[5][6]
Cleara Biotech emerged from academic discoveries at University Medical Center Utrecht, where scientific founders identified that senescent cells impair tissue function and promote cancer metastases in mice, published in *Cell* (2017) and *Cancer Discovery* (2016).[1] Founded in 2018 as Cleara Biotech B.V. to translate these findings into therapies, the company advanced FOXO4-based anti-senescence peptides from third- to fourth-generation candidates optimized for human use, recognizing senescence as diverse subtypes rather than a uniform target.[1][5][6] Key early traction included optimizing CL04177 and CL04183 during 2018-2022 research, securing $2.5 million seed financing led by Apollo Health Ventures in 2022, and a 2024 capital injection enabling GLP-tox studies with CROs and Phase 1 trial designs.[5][6] These milestones humanize Cleara as a bridge from university labs to patient-impacting precision drugs.[1][5]
Cleara stands out in senolytics through subtype-specific targeting rather than broad cell clearance, leveraging deep molecular insights into senescence pathways:
Cleara rides the cellular rejuvenation therapeutics trend, targeting senescence—a hallmark of aging linked to chronic diseases and cancer progression—within a market developing senolytics, telomere therapies, and mitochondrial interventions.[2] Timing aligns with rising interest in precision senolytics post-2010s academic breakthroughs, fueled by aging populations and failures of broad therapies, where subtype specificity addresses safety concerns.[1][3][6] Market forces like longevity investing (e.g., seed backers Apollo Health Ventures, Longevity Tech Fund) and biotech demand for niche oncology tools favor Cleara, influencing the ecosystem by pioneering biomarker-guided anti-senescence for late-stage cancers and healthspan extension.[2][5][6]
Cleara is primed for Series-A funding or pharma partnerships to launch CL04183 into Phase 1 trials, focusing on safety/efficacy in p53-driven metastases while expanding scarred senescence applications to chronic diseases.[5] Trends like AI-accelerated peptide design, regulatory nods for aging indications, and senolytic combo therapies will shape its path, potentially amplifying influence in rejuvenation biotech. As a university-spinout pioneer, Cleara could redefine senescence clearance, delivering the subtype precision that unlocks safer healthspan therapies from lab discoveries to clinics.[1][3][5]
Cleara Biotech has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Cleara Biotech's investors include Apollo Health Ventures, Curie Capital, Longevity Tech Fund, ROM Utrecht Region.
