What Arda Therapeutics does

Arda Therapeutics is a privately held, pre-clinical biotechnology company founded in 2021 and headquartered at the MBC BioLabs incubator in San Carlos, California. The company develops targeted cell depletion therapies designed to selectively eliminate pathogenic cells that drive chronic diseases, applying immuno-oncology modalities — immune-cell engaging biologics, antibody-drug conjugates, and engineered T cells — to non-oncology indications. Lead programs focus on depleting pathogenic mesenchymal cell populations across multiple forms of fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), with broader platform applications in autoimmune and metabolic disorders.

The company's core technology is a single-cell-based discovery engine that uses custom machine learning methods to integrate single-cell data across studies, technologies, and between patient samples and preclinical models. This target identification platform maps disease-specific cell states and applies selectivity, robustness, and translatability metrics to nominate surface markers on pathogenic cells, which then serve as targets for biologic drug candidates. The approach is differentiated from conventional pathway-modulating drug discovery by aiming to remove the disease-driving cell population rather than modulating the activity of proteins it produces, addressing chronic diseases with multiple redundant pathways that have historically resisted single-target intervention.

As a pre-clinical stage company with no approved or commercialized products, Arda does not currently generate product revenue. Its go-to-market motion follows a traditional biotech model: advancing lead programs toward the clinic, expanding the platform across disease areas, and ultimately pursuing licensing deals, partnerships, or acquisition by larger pharmaceutical companies for late-stage development and commercialization. The company raised a $43 million Series A in October 2024 led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Bio + Health) with Eli Lilly and Company among the participants, and operates with a lean team of fewer than 10 employees led by founders Adam Freund (CEO, ex-Calico Life Sciences) and Rémi Laberge (CTO, ex-Unity Biotechnology), with Scott Turner (ex-CSO of Pliant Therapeutics) joining as CSO.

Name

Arda Therapeutics

Legal name

Arda Therapeutics

Website

https://ardatx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biopharmaceutical Therapeutics

NAICS

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

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Antibody Discovery & Engineering Platforms (display tech, bispecifics, Fc engineering) (HLAAAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) & Antibody Conjugates (HLAAAAAE), Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics (mAbs) (HLAAAAAA), Cell Therapy Enabling Technologies (gene editing, cell engineering, delivery methods) (HLAAABAL)

Keywords

• Targeted cell depletion
• Single-cell discovery platform
• Fibrosis therapeutics
• Chronic disease biologics
• Immuno-oncology approaches

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Therapeutic Development and Commercialization: Pre-clinical biotech company developing targeted cell depletion therapies. Revenue will be generated through eventual drug commercialization, licensing deals, or acquisition by larger pharmaceutical companies once programs reach clinical stage.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arda Therapeutics is a pre-clinical biotechnology company developing targeted cell depletion therapies for chronic diseases, including fibrotic conditions such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as well as autoimmune and metabolic disorders. The company uses a single-cell-based discovery engine with custom machine learning to identify pathogenic cells and their surface markers, then designs targeted biologics (immune-cell engaging biologics, antibody-drug conjugates, and engineered T cells) that selectively eliminate those cells while preserving healthy tissue.

Product overview

Arda Therapeutics is developing a unified platform for targeted cell depletion therapies to treat chronic diseases. The company's core offering consists of its single-cell-based discovery engine that identifies pathogenic cells and their surface markers, combined with targeted biologic therapeutics that selectively eliminate harmful cells. Lead programs focus on fibrotic conditions including pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), with broader applications in autoimmune and metabolic disorders. The platform applies immuno-oncology approaches—immune-cell engaging biologics, antibody-drug conjugates, and engineered cell therapies—outside of cancer to treat chronic diseases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Targeted Cell Depletion Platform A single-cell-based discovery engine that uses custom machine learning to identify pathogenic cells responsible for disease and their surface markers with high precision, enabling development of targeted biologics that selectively eliminate harmful cells while preserving healthy tissue.
• Lead Fibrosis Programs Pre-clinical therapeutic programs depleting pathogenic mesenchymal cell populations in multiple types of fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), with potential for greater efficacy and fewer side effects compared to conventional antifibrotic treatments.
• Targeted Biologics Antibody-based therapeutic candidates including immune-cell engaging biologics, antibody-drug conjugates, and engineered T cells, designed to bind enriched surface markers on harmful cells and selectively eliminate pathogenic cells while preserving healthy tissue, with the potential for long-lasting effects with intermittent dosing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Targeted cell depletion approach offers greater efficacy, faster discovery timelines, and reduced dosing frequency compared to traditional pathway-modulating approaches.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MBC BioLabscoreOthersArda Therapeutics is located at MBC BioLabs, a vibrant biotech incubator in San Carlos, CA. This provides the company with laboratory space and access to shared resources and ecosystem support for early-stage biotech companies.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Schrödinger: Computational drug discovery platform using physics-based simulation and machine learning to design and optimize therapeutics. Comparable as a platform-driven biotech combining computational methods with therapeutic development, though primarily focused on small-molecule discovery.
• NewLimit: Early-stage longevity biotech using epigenetic reprogramming to restore cellular function in aged tissues. Comparable as a peer in the longevity biotech category attacking chronic disease through cellular-level interventions, though at a similarly early stage.
• Insitro: Machine learning-driven drug discovery company combining high-throughput biology and computational methods to identify targets for chronic disease. Comparable to Arda in its reliance on data-driven target identification, though at greater scale and focused on small-molecule and genetic disease applications.
• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: Tech-enabled drug discovery platform using high-throughput biology and machine learning to identify novel targets across multiple therapeutic areas. Comparable as a platform-driven biotech applying computational methods to systematic target discovery, though broader in indication scope.

Direct peers

• Pliant Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing integrin-targeted therapies for fibrotic diseases including IPF. Arda's CSO Scott Turner previously led Pliant's fibrosis discovery platform and biomarker strategy; both companies are pursuing differentiated mechanisms in IPF, making Pliant the closest fibrosis-specific comparator.
• Unity Biotechnology: Pioneer in senolytics and targeted elimination of pathogenic senescent cells for chronic age-related diseases. Arda's CTO Rémi Laberge was a foundational member at Unity, and the companies share the core thesis that clearing pathogenic cells can treat chronic diseases — making Unity Arda's most directly comparable peer.
• Sonoma Biotherapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing engineered regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Comparable to Arda in applying engineered T cell biology to chronic non-oncology indications, sharing both modality and disease-area focus.
• Lyell Immunopharma: Clinical-stage cell therapy company engineering T cells for solid tumors and other indications. Comparable to Arda in its use of engineered T cells as one of its therapeutic modalities and its focus on cell-based therapies for serious diseases.

Broad incumbents

• Altos Labs: Well-capitalized ($3B+) biotech pursuing cellular rejuvenation programming to treat aging and age-related diseases. Comparable as a longevity-focused biotech attacking chronic disease through cellular reprogramming, though at vastly greater scale and with a different core modality.
• Calico Life Sciences: Alphabet-backed R&D organization focused on aging biology and age-related disease. Arda's CEO Adam Freund previously led programs at Calico; while Calico operates at vastly greater scale with a much broader mandate, both companies share the chronic-disease-via-aging-biology thesis and overlap in team lineage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Arda_Tx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arda-therapeutics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors16 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 Arda Therapeutics