Oxford-based Scripta Therapeutics has landed a £9.1 million seed round to find novel disease-modifying therapeutics, led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Apollo Health Ventures.

Founded by experienced BioTech and pharma operator Peter Hamley (Samsara Therapeutics, Sanofi, AstraZeneca) and Noel Buckley, Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Oxford, Scripta is combining AI, imaging, and unique patient-derived models to create and modulate disease maps based on transcriptional networks.

By focusing on understanding and manipulating the master controllers of biology, Scripta is searching for drugs with the potential not just to delay disease progression but to stop it altogether. Their first indication is neurodegeneration, but the company’s unbiased, biology-first approach could be applied to any condition.