What Scorpion Therapeutics does

Scorpion Therapeutics, Inc. was a clinical-stage precision oncology company founded in 2020 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company focused on discovering and developing small molecule targeted therapies for cancer patients, with particular emphasis on well-validated but previously undruggable targets. Its lead clinical asset, STX-478, was a once-daily oral, mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor designed to selectively target the PI3Kα pathway in cancerous cells while sparing healthy cells, addressing a key tolerability limitation of currently approved PI3Kα inhibitors. STX-478 was being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors driven by PI3Kα mutations, with the addressable patient population estimated at 30-40% of hormone-positive breast cancer patients.

The company built a proprietary, fully-integrated discovery platform combining cancer biology, medicinal chemistry, and data sciences to produce its pipeline of three internally discovered clinical candidates and multiple discovery-stage programs. Scorpion operated as a venture-backed private biotechnology company, raising approximately $420M across three private financing rounds between 2020 and 2024, and employed 101-250 people. The company had no commercialized products and no product revenue; its business model centered on R&D and clinical development funded by equity capital, with value realization occurring through strategic transactions.

In January 2025, Eli Lilly and Company agreed to acquire Scorpion's PI3Kα inhibitor program for up to $2.5 billion in cash, inclusive of upfront and regulatory/sales milestone payments. As part of the transaction, Scorpion spun out a new entity — Antares Therapeutics — to retain its employees and non-PI3Kα pipeline assets, with Lilly taking a minority equity interest. Antares subsequently launched with a $177 million Series A round and entered a partnership with Novartis to advance its covalent drug discovery engine and broader precision oncology pipeline.

Name

Scorpion Therapeutics

Legal name

Scorpion Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://scorpiontx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Oncology Pharmaceuticals

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Lead Optimization & Preclinical Candidate Selection (HLAIALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Precision oncology therapies
• Small molecule drug discovery
• PI3Kα inhibitor development
• Targeted cancer therapeutics
• Mutant-selective oncology

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Scorpion Therapeutics is a clinical-stage precision oncology company that develops small molecule targeted therapies for cancer patients. Its lead program, STX-478, is a once-daily oral, mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors driven by PI3Kα mutations. The company also maintains multiple discovery-stage programs targeting previously undruggable oncology targets using its integrated cancer biology, medicinal chemistry, and data sciences discovery platform.

Product overview

Scorpion Therapeutics is a clinical-stage precision oncology company that developed targeted therapies for patients with cancer. The company's pipeline was led by STX-478, a mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor, and included three internally discovered clinical product candidates plus multiple discovery-stage programs. Eli Lilly acquired Scorpion's PI3Kα inhibitor program for up to $2.5 billion in January 2025, while a new spun-out entity retained the non-PI3Kα pipeline assets. Scorpion built proprietary and fully-integrated discovery capabilities leveraging advanced technologies across cancer biology, medicinal chemistry, and data sciences to develop product candidates selective against previously undruggable targets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• STX-478 Once-daily oral, mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor in Phase 1/2 clinical development for hormone-positive breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors carrying PI3Kα mutations; selectively targets the PI3Kα pathway in cancerous cells while sparing healthy cells, intended to address approximately 30-40% of hormone-positive breast cancer patients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Potentially addresses 30-40% of hormone-positive breast cancer patients with PI3Kα mutations

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Eli Lilly and CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2025Eli Lilly acquired Scorpion's mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor program including STX-478 for up to $2.5 billion. Lilly gained options that could bring milestones plus tiered royalties. As part of the transaction, Scorpion spun out a new entity to hold employees and non-PI3Kα pipeline assets, with Lilly holding a minority equity interest in the new company.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Revolution Medicines: Revolution Medicines is a clinical-stage precision oncology company developing targeted small molecule therapies against RAS and other oncogenic drivers. It shares Scorpion's focus on difficult, previously undruggable oncology targets and integrated drug discovery.
• Black Diamond Therapeutics: Black Diamond Therapeutics is a precision oncology company developing small molecule therapies against allosteric and mutant oncogenic targets, including in the PI3K and MAPK pathways. It is a direct comparator in the mutant-selective oncology space.
• Relay Therapeutics: Relay Therapeutics developed RLY-2608, a mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor and one of Scorpion's closest direct competitors in precision PI3Kα oncology. Both companies pursue structure-based drug design of mutant-selective inhibitors against validated oncology targets.
• Nuvalent: Nuvalent is a clinical-stage precision oncology company designing small molecule kinase and other targeted inhibitors using an integrated chemistry, biology, and computational approach. Its pipeline profile and discovery philosophy closely mirror Scorpion's model of selective kinase targeting.
• Foghorn Therapeutics: Foghorn Therapeutics is a clinical-stage precision oncology company developing therapies targeting the chromatin regulatory system. It is comparable to Scorpion as a clinical-stage biotech leveraging proprietary platforms against previously undruggable oncology targets.

Broad incumbents

• Mirati Therapeutics: Mirati Therapeutics developed targeted oncology therapies including Krazati (adagrasib) and was acquired by BMS. It is a broad incumbent in precision oncology with overlapping development of mutant-selective oncology drugs and similar exit profile to Scorpion.
• Roche: Roche developed inavolisib (Itovebi), a more recent PI3Kα inhibitor approved in HR+ breast cancer, and represents the current best-in-class benchmark that STX-478 must beat on tolerability and efficacy in the same indication.
• Novartis: Novartis commercializes alpelisib (Piqray), the first approved PI3Kα inhibitor, and is a direct comparator in the PI3Kα commercial landscape where STX-478 will compete. It is also partnered with Antares Therapeutics post-spinout.
• Eli Lilly: Eli Lilly is the strategic acquirer of Scorpion's PI3Kα program and now serves as the parent commercializing STX-478. It is a broad incumbent in oncology with the global infrastructure necessary to scale STX-478 globally.

Emerging players

• Nested Therapeutics: Nested Therapeutics is an early-stage precision oncology company applying computational chemistry to discover small molecule inhibitors against oncogenic targets. It is comparable as an emerging player pursuing precision small molecule oncology with a similar platform-driven approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scorpiontx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors21 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 Scorpion Therapeutics