Nextera

What Nextera does

Nextera AS is a Norwegian private biotech company spun out in 2009 from the Centre of Excellence research environment at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital. Co-founded by Geir Åge Løset (CEO/CSO) and Hans Ivar Robinson (Executive Chairman), the company develops TCR-Like antibodies and engineered T cell receptors that target disease-specific peptide-HLA (pHLA) complexes, expanding the addressable target space for antibody therapeutics into the intracellular antigen universe that has historically been accessible only to T cells.

Nextera's core offering is the NextCore drug-discovery platform, an integrated system built on proprietary pIX and pVII phage display technologies and comprising four functional modules: NextCore-Ab (TCR-Like antibody discovery), NextCore-TCR (TCR optimization for redirected cell therapy), and NextCore-HLAI/NextCore-HLAII (combinatorial pHLA class I and II libraries for target identification and profiling). The platform has produced preclinical candidates with picomolar affinities (Kd ~20 pM), including the lead antibody 3.C11 in celiac disease and pHLA-targeted T cell engagers in oncology. Scientific output has been validated through peer-reviewed publications in Science Immunology, PNAS and Gastroenterology, and the platform is protected by a granted US patent covering multivalent phage display systems.

The company's business model is sales-led and partnership-driven. Revenue (where generated) is sourced from licensing/royalty arrangements, collaborative drug discovery agreements, and platform access services negotiated with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. Active collaborations include Karolinska Institutet (rheumatoid arthritis tolerizing immunotherapy), Zelluna Immunotherapy (TCR-NK cell therapy), and multiple academic institutions. Nextera's go-to-market relies on scientific conference presence (PEGS Europe, BIO Europe, AET Europe) and direct enterprise outreach. To date, the company has been funded primarily through non-dilutive Norwegian Research Council grants (notably 15.7 MNOK in 2020 and an additional IPN award in November 2025) and early-stage support from Birk Venture in 2010, with no disclosed product revenue or commercial licensing transactions.

Name

Nextera

Legal name

Nextera AS

Website

https://nextera.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nextera AS is a Norwegian biotech that develops TCR-Like antibodies and engineered T cell receptors via its proprietary NextCore phage display platform to target disease-specific pHLA complexes for cancer immunotherapy and autoimmune disease treatment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Therapeutic Antibody Drug Discovery

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

CAR-T & TCR-T Therapies (HLAAABAC), Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization) (HLAAAIAC)

Keywords

• TCR-Like antibodies
• Phage display technology
• Drug discovery platform
• PHLA targeting
• Immuno-oncology therapeutics

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Partnership and Collaboration Revenue: Nextera discovers new targets and develops cognate drugs together with pharmaceutical partners. Revenue is generated through strategic partnerships, asset out-licensing, and collaborative development agreements.
2. Platform Access and Research Services: The company offers access to its NextCore discovery platform and broader strategic partnerships for drug discovery services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nextera develops TCR-Like antibody and TCR-based therapeutic candidates using its proprietary NextCore platform, which is built on a differentiated pIX phage display technology. The platform enables targeting of disease-specific pHLA complexes for cancer immunotherapy and autoimmune disease applications, generating antibody candidates with picomolar affinity and exquisite specificity through integrated modules including NextCore-Ab, NextCore-TCR, NextCore-HLAI, and NextCore-HLAII.

Product overview

Nextera is a drug and target discovery company offering the NextCore platform - an integrated drug discovery system comprising NextCore-Ab, NextCore-TCR, NextCore-HLAI, and NextCore-HLAII modules. The platform is built on unique pIX and pVII phage display technologies. The company accelerates a pipeline of TCR-Like antibody lead candidates and T cell engagers (TCEs) targeting disease-specific pHLA complexes for applications in cancer immunotherapy and autoimmune diseases. Nextera's strategy is to discover new targets and develop cognate drugs together with partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NextCore Platform Integrated drug discovery platform enabling development of novel precision drug candidates targeting the intracellular universe of disease antigens through pHLA. It is built on Nextera's proprietary and differentiated pIX phage display technology and encompasses modules for antibody, TCR, and HLA class I/II library applications.
• TCR-Like Antibody Pipeline (Autoimmune Diseases) Pipeline of TCR-Like antibody lead candidates targeting disease-specific pHLA complexes for autoimmune indications including celiac disease and rheumatoid arthritis, supported by NextCore-Ab technology and partnerships with Karolinska Institutet and the Norwegian Research Council.
• TCR-Like Antibody Pipeline (Oncology) Pipeline of TCR-Like antibody lead candidates for cancer immunotherapy, leveraging the NextCore platform to develop high-affinity, disease-specific antibodies against intracellular cancer antigens.
• TCR-Like Antibody 3.C11 (Celiac Disease Lead Candidate) Lead TCR-Like antibody candidate targeting gluten peptide-MHC complexes in celiac disease with picomolar affinity, demonstrated to efficiently block activation and proliferation of gluten-responsive human CD4+ T cells in vitro and in TCR/HLA-DQ2.5 transgenic mice.
• T Cell Engagers (TCEs) TCR-Like antibody candidates reformatted as T cell engagers, demonstrating low picomolar cancer killing potency in liquid and solid cancer models including MAGE-A4 targeting candidates for oncology applications.
• Strategic Co-Development and Asset Out-Licensing Partnerships Partnership offerings where Nextera collaborates with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to discover new targets and co-develop cognate drug candidates using the NextCore platform, including asset out-licensing and platform access arrangements for immuno-oncology and autoimmunity programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Generated one of the highest affinity fully human TCR-Like antibodies reported to date (Kd ~20 pM)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Karolinska InstitutetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2025Nextera AS announced collaboration with Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) on joint development of next generation targeted tolerizing immunotherapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis treatment. The multi-year program leverages Nextera's unique NextCore platform combined with Karolinska's preclinical and clinical capabilities in RA. TCR-Like antibodies will selectively target RA-associated autoantigens on HLA class II molecules for disease-specific suppression of pathogenic T cells while preserving protective immunity.
• Oslo University Hospital / University of OslosupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2022Collaboration with OUS/UiO researchers on combining NextCore platform with computational methods for developing high-affinity TCR-Like antibodies, achieving Kd ~20 pM affinity.
• Zelluna Immunotherapy AScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2022Strategic collaboration on optimizing T cell receptors (TCRs) for implementation into Zelluna's off-the-shelf TCR-based Natural Killer (TCR-NK) cell approach for cancer treatment. Nextera's NextCore platform uniquely equipped to harness new generation of TCR targeting modules to maximize efficacy and safety of TCR-NK cell therapies.
• Johns Hopkins UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 August 2021Collaboration on generating and characterizing extremely sensitive TCR-Like antibodies towards gluten T cell epitopes in celiac disease using NextCore-Ab technology. Published in Science Immunology.
• Monash UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 August 2021International collaboration partner in celiac disease research alongside Johns Hopkins University and Oslo University Hospital, contributing to TCR-Like antibody characterization study published in Science Immunology.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Immunocore: UK/US TCR-based therapeutics company; founder Dr. Bent Jakobsen is on Nextera's board. Both companies focus on TCR-based immunotherapies targeting pHLA, making Immunocore the most direct peer in the TCR therapeutics category.
• Adaptimmune Therapeutics: Clinical-stage TCR-T cell therapy company (afami-cel approved). Like Nextera, Adaptimmune's lineage traces to Bent Jakobsen and targets pHLA complexes via engineered TCRs, with overlapping pipeline in solid tumor TCR therapy.
• Zelluna Immunotherapy: Norwegian biotech developing off-the-shelf TCR-NK cell therapies for cancer. Zelluna is an active Nextera partner receiving NextCore-optimized TCRs for redirected cell therapy, and operates in the same TCR/cell-therapy category.
• Eureka Therapeutics: US biotech pioneering TCR-Like antibody discovery against intracellular cancer antigens presented on pHLA. Closest direct comparator to Nextera's NextCore-Ab TCR-Like antibody pipeline and shares the same pHLA-targeting value proposition.
• Medigene: German immunotherapy company developing TCR-based therapies (including TCR-T cells and TCR-engineered T cells) for cancer. Overlapping in TCR technology platform and pHLA targeting with Nextera's NextCore-TCR franchise.
• BioInvent: Swedish clinical-stage biotech with antibody discovery capabilities using phage display and n-CoDeR library. BioInvent is highly comparable to Nextera on antibody/phage display technology, geographic base (Nordics), and cancer focus; BioInvent's CEO Martin Welschof also sits on Nextera's board.
• Maverick Therapeutics: US biotech (acquired by Takeda) developing T cell engagers (TCEs) and TCR-based bispecifics for cancer. Direct overlap with Nextera's TCE pipeline targeting pHLA cancer antigens (e.g., MAGE-A4).
• Polaris Pharmaceuticals: Biotech developing antibody-based therapeutics targeting pHLA complexes for cancer. Direct competitor to Nextera in the pHLA-targeting antibody space with overlap in TCR-Like antibody value proposition.
• TCR² Therapeutics: Clinical-stage cell therapy company developing novel T cell receptor fusion construct (TRuC) therapies. Comparable to Nextera in leveraging engineered TCR biology for cancer cell therapy, with adjacent technology overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Neogene Therapeutics: Acquired by AstraZeneca, Neogene is a TCR cell therapy platform company targeting neoantigens in solid tumors. Larger player with overlapping TCR-discovery capabilities; operates as a broad incumbent in Nextera's target category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nextera-as

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Nextera