What Abcentra does

Abcentra is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing orticumab, a first-in-class fully-human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that binds malondialdehyde-modified apolipoproteinB-100 epitopes on oxidized LDL (oxLDL). Its mechanism complexes with oxLDL within atherosclerotic plaques, inhibits pro-inflammatory macrophage activation via FcγRII engagement and NF-κB down-regulation, and is designed to act locally at the plaque site rather than systemically — differentiating it from systemic anti-inflammatory competitors such as canakinumab, ziltivekimab, and colchicine. The company is currently enrolling the Phase 2b FORTIFY trial (240 patients across 40 sites in the US, UK, and Europe) evaluating orticumab for secondary prevention of cardiac events in patients with a history of type 1 myocardial infarction and elevated coronary inflammation as measured by the Fat Attenuation Index.

The company has no commercial product and derives no product revenue; its operating model is built around outsourced clinical development supported by a small internal team of 1–10 employees plus an extended R&D network through Cedars-Sinai and Lund University. Its primary end users are post-ACS and broader coronary artery disease patients with elevated coronary inflammation, a population in which one-in-five ACS patients experience a recurrent cardiac event within two years despite optimal preventative therapy. The company's go-to-market thesis relies on a companion-diagnostic partnership with Caristo Diagnostics (CaRi-Heart AI / FAI Score) to identify high-inflammation patients most likely to benefit, positioning orticumab as an add-on to standard-of-care rather than a replacement therapy.

Abcentra is headquartered in Los Angeles with a Princeton, NJ office, was rebranded from CardioVax in January 2019, and is primarily funded by Glenbarr Partners (largest equity holder and lead investor in the $50M 2024 follow-on), with Cedars-Sinai Health System and Time Bioventures as additional strategic investors. Its capital is being deployed to complete the Phase 2b program; the company has not announced a Phase 3 timeline, partnership, IPO, or M&A event, and its long-term commercial economics will depend on whether it out-licenses, partners, or independently commercializes following pivotal data.

Name

Abcentra

Legal name

Abcentra LLC

Website

https://abcentra.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Abcentra is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing orticumab, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting oxidized LDL for plaque-localized anti-inflammatory treatment of post-ACS and coronary artery disease patients, currently in a 240-patient Phase 2b FORTIFY trial across the US, UK, and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cardiovascular Biopharmaceuticals

akta.pro primary industry

Cardiology & Vascular Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAG)

Keywords

• Oxidized LDL therapeutics
• Monoclonal antibody therapy
• Cardiovascular inflammation
• Atherosclerosis treatment
• Anti-inflammatory biologics

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Product Revenue: Abcentra is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Its primary anticipated revenue stream would come from sales of orticumab upon regulatory approval. Orticumab is being developed for secondary prevention of cardiac events after acute coronary syndrome (ACS), with potential expansion into primary prevention in CAD patients with coronary inflammation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Abcentra is developing orticumab, a first-in-class fully-human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that targets oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) to locally reduce vascular inflammation within atherosclerotic plaques. The lead candidate is in Phase 2b (FORTIFY trial, 240 patients, 40 sites in US/UK/Europe) for secondary prevention of cardiac events after acute coronary syndrome. The company is also exploring earlier-stage antibody and vaccine programs targeting oxLDL and ApoB-100 for broader inflammatory disease indications.

Product overview

Abcentra is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a single clinical-stage product, Orticumab, a first-in-class fully-human monoclonal antibody targeting oxidized LDL (oxLDL) for plaque-targeted anti-inflammatory therapy in coronary artery disease. The company is developing Orticumab for secondary prevention of cardiac events after acute coronary syndrome, with plans to expand into primary prevention in CAD patients with elevated coronary inflammation. Orticumab is the company's core and only clinical-stage product, supported by a pipeline of preclinical programs including other novel antibodies and vaccines targeting oxLDL and apoB-100.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Orticumab A first-in-class fully-human IgG1 monoclonal antibody against oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) that binds the malondialdehyde-modified ApoB-100 epitope. It locally inhibits pro-inflammatory macrophage activation within atherosclerotic plaques via Fcγ Receptor II engagement and NF-kB down-regulation, reducing plaque inflammation, vulnerability, and size. Currently in Phase 2b development for secondary prevention of cardiac events after acute coronary syndrome, with potential future expansion into primary prevention of CAD in patients with elevated coronary inflammation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% reduction in predicted risk of dying from heart attack in high inflammation subgroup (Phase 2a pilot study with 60 participants)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

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 capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Caristo DiagnosticsstrategicTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for CaRi-Heart AI technology to measure coronary inflammation via Fat Attenuation Index (FAI) Score. Abcentra partnered with Caristo to utilize its imaging technology for measuring changes in patients' coronary artery inflammation as result of therapeutic intervention with orticumab.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Novo Nordisk (ziltivekimab via Corvidia): Acquired Corvidia Therapeutics in 2020 and is now developing ziltivekimab (anti-IL-6) in large cardiovascular outcome trials (ZEUS). Direct competitor to Abcentra in the same cardiovascular anti-inflammatory space, with substantially greater resources and Phase 3 program in progress.
• Novartis (canakinumab / IL-1β program): Large incumbent pharma with canakinumab (anti-IL-1β monoclonal antibody), the most clinically advanced systemic anti-inflammatory agent studied in cardiovascular outcomes (CANTOS trial). Comparable to Abcentra as the established reference competitor in the same anti-inflammatory CV paradigm.

Emerging players

• Tenaya Therapeutics: Clinical-stage gene therapy company developing treatments for genetic and acquired heart disease, with programs targeting both heart failure and cardiac inflammation. Adjacent emerging peer in cardiovascular therapeutics with comparable stage and development focus.
• Tourmaline Bio: Clinical-stage immunology company developing pacibekitug (an anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody) and other anti-inflammatory therapeutics for cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. Emerging peer pursuing the same anti-inflammatory CV paradigm as Abcentra with a more established IL-6 mechanism.
• Cardior Pharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage biotech developing CDR132L, an antisense oligonucleotide targeting miR-132 for heart failure and post-infarct remodeling. Comparable emerging player in cardiovascular therapeutics with a molecular, target-directed approach to cardiac disease (acquired by Novo Nordisk in 2024).

Direct peers

• Resverlogix: Late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company developing apabetalone, a BET inhibitor for cardiovascular disease and other inflammatory conditions. Direct peer in the anti-inflammatory cardiovascular space, with a long-running clinical development program addressing the same residual inflammatory risk.
• Inflazome (acquired by Roche): Clinical-stage company developing NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors for inflammatory diseases including cardiovascular indications; acquired by Roche in 2020. Directly comparable to Abcentra in targeting inflammation-driven cardiovascular disease via a different anti-inflammatory mechanism, and illustrative of large-pharma M&A appetite in this space.
• Corvidia Therapeutics: Developed ziltivekimab, an IL-6-targeting anti-inflammatory monoclonal antibody for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Direct comparator to Abcentra's anti-inflammatory CV approach; acquired by Novo Nordisk in 2020 for up to $2.1B. Founded/led by Michael H. Davidson, who also sits on Abcentra's board.
• Olatec Therapeutics: Clinical-stage company developing dapansutrile, an oral NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor being evaluated in cardiovascular and inflammatory indications. Directly comparable to Abcentra in targeting residual inflammatory risk in cardiovascular disease using a mechanism distinct from lipid lowering.
• New Amsterdam Pharma: Clinical-stage cardiovascular biopharmaceutical company developing lipid-targeted therapies (obicetrapib). Highly directly comparable to Abcentra: same therapeutic area (cardiovascular), same stage (Phase 2/3), and Abcentra board member Michael H. Davidson is CEO of New Amsterdam Pharma, with a personal track record of M&A exits (Corvidia → Novo Nordisk; Omthera → AstraZeneca).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Abcentra