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Khartis Therapeutics

Company Overview

A San Diego biotechnology company developing oral small molecule medicines for immunology, led by a selective IGF-1R inhibitor targeting thyroid eye disease, an indication currently served only by intravenous antibodies. Khartis Therapeutics emerged from stealth on 13 August 2026 with $95 million in total funding and a clear strategic thesis: take clinically validated immunology targets that currently require infusion and convert them into convenient oral pills. The company has four programs in total, with three additional preclinical assets behind its lead TED candidate.

Headquarters and Global Presence

Khartis is headquartered at 3911 Sorrento Valley Boulevard, San Diego, California. The company operates as a drug discovery organization and has not disclosed international offices or manufacturing sites at this stage.

Founding and History

Khartis was co-founded in 2024 by Robert Hoffman, Craig Murphy, and Chris LeMasters. The company operated in stealth until August 2026, during which time it built its pipeline and closed two financing rounds totaling $95 million. The $50 million Series B, completed alongside the stealth exit, was the larger of the two rounds.

Therapy Areas and Focus

Thyroid eye disease is the lead focus: an autoimmune condition linked to Graves' disease that causes proptosis, diplopia, and, in severe cases, vision loss. All approved treatments require intravenous infusion, leaving a meaningful gap for an oral alternative that patients could take at home. Beyond TED, Khartis is building a broader immunology pipeline across immune-mediated and chronic diseases, targeting pathways that have already been validated by approved biologics.

Technology Platforms and Modalities

The company's core capability is the design of oral small molecules against targets where the biology has been proven by antibodies but the delivery format has not been optimized. The lead asset is described as the first oral, selective inhibitor of IGF-1R, the receptor whose blockade underpins Amgen's Tepezza and Viridian's Lumvoa in TED. Selectivity is central to the design rationale: IGF-1R is expressed broadly, so off-target inhibition carries metabolic risk, and a selective oral compound would need to demonstrate a clean profile to compete. The three additional preclinical programs apply the same small-molecule approach to other validated immunology pathways.

Key Pipeline and Programs

The lead program is an unnamed oral, selective IGF-1R inhibitor in development for thyroid eye disease. IGF-1R signaling drives orbital fibroblast activation and the inflammatory cascade responsible for TED's hallmark proptosis and soft tissue expansion. The asset is pre-clinical as of the stealth exit, with first-in-human studies planned for the first quarter of 2027. No clinical trial identifier has been assigned publicly yet.

Three further programs are in earlier preclinical stages, developed internally and targeting other clinically validated immunology pathways. Targets and indications for these programs have not been disclosed publicly. The TED program is the sole asset approaching the clinic on the disclosed timeline.

Recent Developments

On 13 August 2026, Khartis emerged from stealth and announced $95 million in total funding, including a $50 million Series B led by Forge Life Science Partners. New investors Longwood Fund and Alexandria Venture Investments joined existing backers Foresite Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and Nextech Invest. The company simultaneously disclosed its lead IGF-1R program and its plan to file for first-in-human trials in Q1 2027. No clinical data have yet been generated.

Key Personnel

Robert Hoffman serves as chief executive officer and head of drug discovery. He spent more than three decades at Pfizer as a research project leader and contributed to the discovery of lorlatinib (Lorbrena), the approved ALK/ROS1 inhibitor for lung cancer; he later served as vice president of chemistry at XinThera. Craig Murphy serves as chief scientific officer, and Chris LeMasters serves as executive chairman.

Strategic Partnerships

The Series B was led by Forge Life Science Partners, with participation from Longwood Fund and Alexandria Venture Investments as new investors. Existing backers Foresite Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and Nextech Invest also participated. No licensing or co-development partnerships with pharmaceutical companies have been announced.

FAQ Section

The approved options, Amgen's Tepezza and Viridian's Lumvoa, both require intravenous infusion, which limits patient access and adds clinical burden. An oral pill for TED would change the treatment experience meaningfully, and Khartis believes a selective IGF-1R small molecule can replicate the mechanism of those antibodies in a pill format. Sling Therapeutics is also chasing an oral approach, so this is a competitive but genuinely unsolved problem.

IGF-1R signaling drives the activation of orbital fibroblasts and the inflammatory cascade that produces the proptosis, diplopia, and soft tissue swelling characteristic of TED. Tepezza's clinical success validated this pathway at the antibody level, de-risking the biology considerably. The outstanding question for a small molecule is selectivity: IGF-1R is expressed in many tissues, and off-target inhibition carries metabolic liability that the compound's design must address.

Khartis claims its lead asset is the first oral, selective IGF-1R inhibitor designed specifically for TED, distinguishing it from broader kinase inhibitors that hit IGF-1R incidentally. The emphasis on selectivity is deliberate and reflects the medicinal chemistry heritage of the founding team. Whether that selectivity advantage translates into a cleaner clinical profile is the hypothesis that Phase I will begin to test in 2027.

The program is pre-clinical as of August 2026, with first-in-human studies targeted for Q1 2027. No clinical trial identifier or IND filing date has been announced publicly. The $95 million raised to date is intended to fund this IND-enabling work and support the three additional preclinical programs running in parallel.

Immunology is the unifying theme across all four programs, with the lead asset sitting at the intersection of autoimmune disease and ophthalmology via TED. The three additional preclinical programs target other clinically validated immunology pathways, though specific indications have not been disclosed. The company describes its focus as immune-mediated and chronic diseases more broadly.

Khartis is pre-clinical across all four programs, with its lead TED asset the closest to the clinic. First-in-human studies are planned for Q1 2027, meaning the company is roughly six to nine months from generating its first human data. The next milestone of substance is IND clearance, which will confirm the regulatory path and timeline assumptions made at the stealth exit.

The company is at an early but well-funded stage.

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