Series A led by The Column Group, DCVC Bio, and Lux Capital, with participation from the Gates Foundation and Alexandria Venture Investments
NEW YORK, Oct. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nilo Therapeutics, a biotechnology company harnessing neural circuits to restore immune homeostasis in disease, launched today with a $101 million Series A financing led by The Column Group (TCG), DCVC Bio, and Lux Capital, with participation from the Gates Foundation and Alexandria Venture Investments. Coinciding with its launch, Nilo announced the appointment of Kim Seth, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer and Board director.
Founded by world-leading scientists Charles Zuker, Ph.D. (Columbia University), Ruslan Medzhitov, Ph.D. (Yale University), and Steve Liberles, Ph.D. (Harvard University), Nilo was created in collaboration with TCG to translate groundbreaking scientific insights in neuro-immunology into new therapeutic strategies. Dr. Seth joins Chief Scientific Officer Laurens Kruidenier, Ph.D., in leading the company’s transition from stealth into its next stage of growth. The financing fuels the establishment of Nilo’s laboratories in New York City, growth of its interdisciplinary research and development team, and advancement of the company’s preclinical programs.
Nilo is developing drugs that harness neural circuits to restore immune homeostasis centrally, offering a differentiated approach to immunomodulation and moving beyond conventional immunosuppression. The company builds on seminal scientific discoveries from the laboratory of Charles Zuker, Ph.D. (Columbia University Principal Investigator and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator), which identified specific vagal neurons that regulate systemic immune activation and inflammation. By targeting these central “master regulator” brain-body circuits, Nilo is employing its novel therapeutic approach to modulate multiple immune pathways in concert, reducing the risk of therapeutic resistance and broadening potential impact across a wide spectrum of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases with large unmet need.
Dr. Seth brings over 25 years of biopharma industry experience, with operating roles across multiple early-stage and public biotech companies and large pharma. He has broad expertise in company building, strategy and R&D operations, business development, finance and capital markets. Prior to Nilo, Dr. Seth served as Chief Business Officer at Repare Therapeutics, a precision oncology company, where he was a member of the Executive Leadership Team and was instrumental in scaling the company from pre-Series A through its Series B financing and IPO. He was responsible for establishing the company’s US business operations and led business development to generate over $250 million in financing through a range of global platform, asset, and clinical partnerships, representing over $4 billion in total potential value. Prior to Repare, Dr. Seth held leadership positions in BD, strategy, and operations across a number of biopharma companies including Pfizer, and was a Large-cap Pharmaceuticals /Specialty Pharmaceuticals research analyst at Goldman Sachs. He earned his BA cum laude in Economics at Harvard College, and his Ph.D. in Neurobiology in the Division of Medical Sciences at Harvard University.
Dr. Seth joins Laurens Kruidenier, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, an accomplished immunology and drug discovery leader. Dr. Kruidenier previously served as CSO at Cellarity and at Prometheus Biosciences (acquired by Merck), where he advanced multiple innovative therapies from concept to clinic in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Earlier in his career at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and GSK, he led preclinical and discovery research teams as well as business development strategy. He earned his Ph.D. in immunology from Leiden University, and his research has been published in leading scientific journals, including Nature.
“Nilo is at a transformative moment,” said Laurens Kruidenier, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Nilo Therapeutics. “Kim’s leadership and experience will accelerate our mission to translate breakthrough neuro-immunology into medicines that could benefit patients across a broad range of immune-driven diseases.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Kim as CEO,” said Dr. Tim Kutzkey, Managing Partner at The Column Group. “With a track record of guiding companies from their earliest stages through IPO, and successfully advancing programs, Kim brings both breadth and vision. His passion for translating bold science into breakthrough medicines makes him the ideal partner to complement Laurens’ scientific leadership and lead Nilo into its next phase of growth.”
“It’s an honor to join the incredibly talented and committed team at Nilo,” said Kim Seth, Chief Executive Officer of Nilo Therapeutics. “Together with Laurens, our world-class scientific founders, and our investors, we are building a company positioned to deliver a new generation of therapies that harness the brain-immune axis to transform the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.”
About Nilo Therapeutics
Nilo Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing a new class of medicines that harness neural circuits to restore immune homeostasis in disease. By targeting master regulator brain-body circuits that centrally control systemic inflammation, Nilo is pioneering a differentiated approach to immunomodulation with the potential to treat a wide spectrum of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases with large unmet need. The company is headquartered in New York, NY. www.nilotx.com
For more information, contact [email protected]
