What CHARM Therapeutics does

CHARM Therapeutics is a London- and Cambridge-based clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2021 that develops small-molecule therapeutics targeting the interaction between menin and the KMT2A protein for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The company is led by co-founder and CEO Laksh Aithani alongside scientific co-founder David Baker, the 2024 Nobel laureate in Chemistry and director of the University of Washington's Institute for Protein Design, with Gary Glick serving as Executive Chair and Interim CEO. Its lead program is CHM-029, a next-generation menin inhibitor designed to retain potency against resistance mutations observed with first-generation menin inhibitors, with first-in-human trials expected to begin in Q2 2026.

CHARM's underlying technology is DragonFold, a proprietary AI-driven protein-ligand co-folding platform that applies deep learning to model dynamic 3D protein-ligand binding interactions for structure-based drug design. The platform has been reported to match or exceed AlphaFold-3 on benchmark tests and is integrated with Free Energy Perturbation calculations through a novel CF-FEP workflow that bypasses labor-intensive ligand-constrained docking. CHARM's value proposition centers on combining this AI platform with medicinal chemistry to design inhibitors that closely mimic the natural KMT2A-menin interaction, thereby addressing the rapid emergence of resistance mutations, QTc prolongation, and drug-drug interaction concerns associated with existing menin-directed therapies.

The company operates as a pre-commercial biotech with a future revenue model anchored in pharmaceutical licensing, co-development arrangements, and royalty streams on approved therapeutics. To date, CHARM has raised over $150 million from a syndicate including NEA, SR One, OrbiMed, F-Prime, Khosla Ventures, NVIDIA, and Bristol Myers Squibb, with operations housed in London headquarters and a research facility at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge.

Name

CHARM Therapeutics

Legal name

Charm Therapeutics Limited

Website

https://charmtx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CHARM Therapeutics is a London-based clinical-stage biotech that uses its proprietary DragonFold AI platform to design next-generation menin inhibitors for acute myeloid leukemia, with lead candidate CHM-029 entering first-in-human trials in Q2 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Oncology Drug Discovery

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Drug Discovery (Target ID/Validation & Hit Discovery) (HLAIALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Protein Interaction & Structural Biology Platforms (cryo-EM, X-ray, NMR, biophysics) (HLAAAIAH), Clinical Development (Phase I–III Trial Design & Execution) (HLAIALAE)

Keywords

• AI drug discovery
• Precision oncology therapeutics
• Small molecule inhibitors
• Protein-ligand modeling
• Menin inhibitor development

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Development and Licensing: CHARM Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company developing small molecule therapeutics for cancer treatment. The company's revenue model will likely involve licensing its drug candidates to pharmaceutical partners, co-development arrangements, and potential commercialization either independently or through partnerships upon regulatory approval.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CHARM Therapeutics designs and develops small-molecule therapeutics, specifically next-generation menin inhibitors, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The company's drug discovery is powered by DragonFold, its proprietary AI-driven protein-ligand prediction platform, and its lead candidate CHM-029 is being advanced toward first-in-human clinical trials expected to begin in Q2 2026.

Product overview

CHARM Therapeutics is a protein-ligand intelligence company that has developed DragonFold, an AI-driven drug discovery platform, and is using it to advance a pipeline of precision oncology treatments. The company's primary focus is on next-generation menin inhibitors for acute myeloid leukemia, with its lead candidate CHM-029 being advanced toward clinical development. DragonFold provides unique 3D insights into protein-ligand binding interactions and integrates with FEP for binding affinity predictions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DragonFold: CHARM's proprietary AI-driven protein-ligand prediction platform that provides 3D insights into protein-ligand binding interactions for structure-based drug design.

Products and services

• DragonFold Proprietary AI-driven protein-ligand prediction platform that applies deep learning to model 3D protein-ligand interactions with category-leading accuracy in co-folding prediction; integrates with Free Energy Perturbation (FEP) for lead optimization and binding affinity predictions. Used internally by CHARM for its menin inhibitor pipeline and positioned for value creation through strategic collaborations.
• CHM-029 A next-generation pan-menin inhibitor drug candidate designed to overcome resistance mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML); structurally optimized to bind precisely within the KMT2A interface on menin, demonstrates robust pre-clinical efficacy with dose-dependent tumor regression, and is predicted to be efficacious at low human doses without QTc interval increase and without inhibiting enzymes responsible for drug-drug interactions. First-in-human trials expected to begin Q2 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• 28% five-year survival rate for AML patients
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bristol Myers SquibbstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2022Bristol Myers Squibb is an existing investor and strategic collaboration partner. CHARM's business development focus includes driving value through strategic collaborations, with the BMS collaboration being a testament to this approach. BMS acquired IFM Therapeutics' cancer program for over $2.3 billion in 2017.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Syndax Pharmaceuticals: Direct competitor developing menin inhibitors for AML; Syndax's revumenib became the first FDA-approved menin inhibitor. CEO Briggs Morrison, now a CHARM non-executive director, previously led Syndax, making this the most directly comparable company.
• Kura Oncology: Clinical-stage oncology company developing ziftomenib, a menin inhibitor for AML. Direct competitor in the same therapeutic class and indication as CHARM's CHM-029.
• Exscientia: AI-driven small-molecule drug discovery company; CHARM co-founder Laksh Aithani was a core contributor at Exscientia. Closely comparable on AI-platform-for-small-molecule-discovery business model.
• Schrödinger: Computational drug discovery company combining physics-based simulation with ML for structure-based design. Comparable to CHARM in using 3D protein-ligand modeling to drive small-molecule design.
• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: AI-driven drug discovery platform combining high-throughput biology with machine learning. Comparable technology-led business model, though oriented to phenotypic screening rather than CHARM's structure-based approach.
• Insilico Medicine: AI-driven biotech using generative models to identify novel targets and design small molecules. Comparable AI-native drug discovery approach and similar clinical-stage development profile.

Broad incumbents

• Johnson & Johnson: Large pharma with a marketed menin inhibitor franchise and broad oncology portfolio. Indirect overlap with CHARM through menin inhibitor competition and a credible potential acquirer or partner.

Emerging players

• Isomorphic Labs: Alphabet/DeepMind-founded company commercializing AlphaFold-derived technology for drug discovery. Closely comparable protein-structure AI capability, though operating at much larger scale.
• Biomea Fusion: Clinical-stage oncology company developing menin inhibitors (BMF-500) for AML. Emerging competitor in the same therapeutic class with earlier-stage assets than CHM-029.
• Atomwise: AI-driven small-molecule drug discovery company using structure-based deep learning. Comparable technology stack to DragonFold and competing for the same pharma partnership ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CHARMTherapeutx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charm-therapeutics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors12 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CHARM Therapeutics