Basel-based FoRx Therapeutics, a clinical-stage BioTech company developing precision anti-cancer therapeutics, today announced the close of an insider-led €42 million ($50 million) Series A financing.
Existing investors including EQT Life Sciences, Pfizer Ventures, Novartis Venture Fund and M Ventures participated in the financing including a first closing in June 2024, which provided funding through the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for FORX-428 and the initiation of the Phase 1 trial.
Tarig Bashir, CEO of FoRx Therapeutics, says: “The FoRx team is proud to have earned the continued trust and conviction of this sophisticated syndicate of leading strategic and specialist investors. The funds from this investment will allow us to achieve initial clinical readout in our ongoing Phase 1 trial of FORX-428, which has shown very strong anti-tumor efficacy in multiple preclinical in vitro and in vivo tumor models.”
In the context of European oncology and adjacent BioTech funding in 2025, FoRx Therapeutics’ Series A sits alongside a steady flow of capital into companies advancing novel cancer mechanisms and platforms.
Hedera Dx, also based in Switzerland, raised €15 million to expand access to modern, targeted cancer care, underlining continued domestic momentum in the sector. Elsewhere, Highlight Therapeutics secured €15 million in Spain to progress immuno-oncology treatments for skin tumours, while T-Therapeutics raised €27.5 million in the UK to develop immune-based therapeutic approaches.
Larger later-stage rounds included Adcytherix in France, which closed a €105 million financing to advance antibody–drug conjugates, and Artios Pharma, which raised €99 million to expand its precision oncology pipeline.
Taken together, these rounds represent roughly €306 million of disclosed funding in 2025 across oncology-focused European BioTechs, positioning FoRx’s financing within a broader pattern of sustained investment into companies targeting differentiated cancer biology, from DNA damage response pathways to immuno-oncology and targeted delivery platforms.
“We are looking forward to reinforcing its best-in-class PARG inhibitor characteristics and potential to make a significant difference to patients, with initial clinical data expected in mid-2026,” adds Bashir.
Founded in 2019, FoRx Therapeutics is a privately held clinical-stage BioTech company innovating precision therapeutics targeting the DNA Damage Response in treatment-resistant cancers.
The funding will be used to advance Phase 1 clinical development of its lead drug candidate, FORX-428, a potential best-in-class PARG (poly (ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase) inhibitor designed to target and disrupt the DNA Damage Response (DDR) in advanced solid tumors.
The company explains that the discovery that distinct genetic subsets of cancer are exceptionally vulnerable to drugs that interfere with the DNA Damage Response (DDR) led to the approval of PARP inhibitors more than 10 years ago, transforming cancer treatment.
FoRx is pursuing a next-generation DDR target, PARG, which shows significant potential as a new treatment for patients whose cancers are resistant to, or have become resistant to, PARP inhibitors.
Vincent Brichard (EQT Life Sciences), Board member at FoRx Therapeutics, says: “Advances in PARG inhibition hold significant potential as a therapeutic strategy in Oncology. Our syndicate’s continued support of FoRx reflects our confidence in both, the lead candidate FORX-428, and the strong progress achieved by its experienced management team.”
FoRx’s ongoing first-in-human Phase 1study of FORX-428, a novel PARG inhibitor targeting the DDR in advanced solid tumors is progressing as planned, with initial data readout expected by mid-2026.
The open-label study, which began recruitment in August 2025 in the United States, is evaluating safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary efficacy in patients with advanced solid tumors who have exhausted standard-of-care options.
FORX-428 is a proprietary, orally available small molecule inhibitor of poly (ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG). PARG is a DNA repair enzyme considered important for the survival of certain genetically defined cancers with specific DDR deficiencies or high replication stress.
In preclinical studies, FORX-428 reportedly demonstrated robust anti-tumour activity across multiple solid tumour types underscoring the novel compound’s outstanding potential in both monotherapy and combination settings.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/12/swiss-biotech-forx-therapeutics-closes-e42-million-for-next-generation-dna-repair-cancer-therapy/
