SOUTH CAROLINA – September 9, 2025 – Altera Therapeutics is an early-stage company developing a first-in-concept cell-penetrating antibody drug conjugate (ADC). Current antibody drug conjugates have demonstrated potent effects in the clinic, but severe toxicities and the few generalizable ADC targets across tumor types limit the true potential of these therapies. Their ADC technology leverages a new mechanism of action to tackle these issues, culminating in a highly potent, widely applicable and safe ADC.
Solutions
Altera’s platform leverages cell-penetrating antibodies to construct unique antibody drug conjugates that deliver payloads directly to the nucleus of tumor cells. This represents an entirely novel and highly differentiated mechanism of action for ADCs, which typically rely on cell surface receptors present only on select tumor types. Through significant preliminary work at Yale University, the founders have demonstrated that this drug exhibits broad applicability across a range of solid tumor types, penetrates dense and impermeable tumor tissue, and achieves a promising safety profile.
Strengths
- Altera’s founding team is comprised of scientific leaders in cancer biology, based out of Yale University.
- The company’s novel ADC is capable of delivering diverse payloads directly to the cytoplasm and nucleus of cancer cells, while achieving potent tumor penetration.
- Altera’s assets target a unique mechanism present across many solid tumor types, opening up difficult, intractable tumor types.
Meet the Co-Founders
From left to right:
Anjali Ramaswamy, Ph.D. | Chief Operating Officer, Lead Entrepreneur
Peter Glazer, Ph.D. | Scientific Co-Founder
Zaira Ianniello, Ph.D. | Scientific Co-Founder
Elias Quijano, Ph.D. | Scientific Co-Founder