Helex Raises $3.5 Mn To Develop Targeted Medicines For Genetic Kidney Diseases

Biotech startup Helex has raised $3.5 Mn (around INR 31 Cr) in its seed funding round led by pi Ventures, with participation from a host of investors, including Bluehill.VC, US-based SOSV, among others. 

The startup will deploy the capital to accelerate pre-clinical development of its lead programme, as part of which it is developing a drug to cure patients suffering from Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD). 

Besides, the capital will also be used for advancement of Helex’s proprietary kidney-tropic LNP (lipid nanoparticles) delivery system and its Epic-Cure 3D genome-based drug design platform, which goes in the detail of the disease and the cells in the human body to maximise gene editing accuracy and minimise off-target effects. 

The startup also plans to work on expanding its product pipeline towards other kidney indications – both independently and in collaboration with other medical companies. 

Founded  in 2021 by Poulami Chaudhuri, Anirudh Nishtala and Rohini Kalvakuntla, Helex is developing advanced medicines for curing genetic kidney diseases via gene and cell therapy. 

Talking about cell and gene therapies, Chaudhuri told Inc42, “Such therapies allow you to actually go into the basis of it and cure the disease itself. For example, in our DNA, we have about 6 Bn bases or letters. If any letter goes wrong, there is a life-threatening disease that can actually happen. Advanced therapeutics offer an opportunity to get to the base of the disease, correct the DNA once and for all.”

Including the latest funding, Helex has raised a total of $6 Mn to date. 

India’s advanced therapeutics or advanced therapy medicinal products market is estimated to be valued at $13 Bn in 2025 and is projected to reach $52.4 Bn by 2035, clocking a CAGR of 15%.

As the market is picking up pace, several investors are betting on the startups trying to revolutionise healthcare through advanced therapeutics. For instance, Avammune Therapeutics recently raised $12 Mn to boost its IP portfolio and support clinical development of its lead candidate AVA-NP-695 (an ENPP1 inhibitor) and pre-clinical development of other pipeline molecules. 

Similarly, Immuneel Therapeutics secured close to INR 100 Cr last year to offer cell and gene therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy in India to fight cancer.