One To Watch

Nucleome Therapeutics

An Oxford, UK-based immunology company using non-coding human genetics and 3D genomics to identify novel drug targets for inflammatory disease. The company’s lead program is an antibody designed to activate an inflammation-resolution pathway, with rheumatoid arthritis positioned as the initial indication.

Company Overview

Nucleome focuses on the “non-coding” genome—genetic variants that influence disease risk without directly altering protein-coding genes. Its operating premise is that resolving variant-to-gene causality (in relevant immune cell types) can produce better-validated targets and enable mechanistic patient stratification in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Headquarters and Global Presence

Nucleome is based in Oxford, UK (Inventa, Botley Road). The company positions its work as platform-led but pipeline-driven, with selective partnering alongside internal drug development.

Founding and History

Nucleome was founded by scientists in gene regulation linked to the University of Oxford and incorporated in 2019. The company closed an oversubscribed £37.5 million Series A financing in October 2022, led by M Ventures with participation from Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC), Pfizer Ventures, British Patient Capital and Oxford Science Enterprises.

Therapy Areas and Focus

Nucleome is focused on immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. It has framed its initial clinical development priorities around:

Rheumatoid arthritis (initial target indication for the lead program)
Potential expansion into systemic lupus erythematosus and inflammatory bowel disease, based on mechanism and genetics rationale

Technology Platforms and Modalities

Nucleome’s platform combines:

3D genomics (Micro Capture-C, MCC) to map regulatory DNA interactions at high resolution
Variant functional validation in primary human cells
Computational methods (including ML) for variant-to-gene mapping and target/indication prioritisation

Its disclosed therapeutic modality focus is antibody-based immunomodulation (including agonist antibodies).

Programs and Clinical Pipeline

NTP464 (first-in-class monoclonal antibody agonist; inflammation-resolution pathway)

Status: candidate characterisation and optimisation (preclinical candidate selection)
Rationale: genetics-supported “inflammation checkpoint” target linked to multiple inflammatory diseases and multiple immune cell types
Proposed positioning: initial indication in rheumatoid arthritis, with potential to expand into lupus and inflammatory bowel disease
Timeline disclosed by the company: Phase I a targeted for 2027

Pipeline (undisclosed additional targets)

Status: multiple targets in biological validation and early discovery
Use cases: internal development and partnering, supported by MCC plus computational/ML methods

Key Personnel

Nucleome’s recent public communications highlight:

Mark Bodmer, Chief Executive Officer
Michelle Morrow, Chief Scientific Officer (appointment announced February 2026; start date February 23, 2026)
Bhavna Hunjan, Chief Business Officer (appointment announced May 2025)

Strategic Partnerships

Nucleome has stated it is collaborating with a major pharmaceutical company and expects additional partnering opportunities. Public materials do not consistently identify partners or programme-level terms.

FAQ Section

Nucleome uses 3D genomics and non-coding human genetics to connect disease-associated variants to the genes and pathways they regulate in relevant immune cell types. The goal is to translate genetic causality into drug targets and to define mechanistic patient subgroups.

The company is focused on immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Its lead programme is being positioned initially for rheumatoid arthritis, with lupus and inflammatory bowel disease cited as potential follow-on indications based on the same underlying mechanism.

Nucleome’s lead disclosed programme is NTP464, described as a first-in-class agonist monoclonal antibody targeting a regulator of inflammation resolution. Beyond that, the company describes additional targets in validation/discovery stages, with some intended for internal development and others for partnering.

Most recent items, in reverse chronological order:

February 16, 2026: appointment of Michelle Morrow as Chief Scientific Officer (effective February 23, 2026).
January 7, 2026: nomination of a preclinical development candidate for the lead programme NTP464, with progression toward IND-enabling studies stated.
November 2025: publication activity highlighted by the company around MCC/3D genome mapping work (Oxford-linked).
May 27, 2025: appointment of Bhavna Hunjan as Chief Business Officer.

NTP464 is an agonist antibody programme aimed at activating an inflammation-resolution pathway that the company describes as dysregulated in autoimmune disease. The stated pharmacology profile includes effects across both adaptive and innate immune compartments (including inhibitory effects on activated immune cells and promotion of regulatory activity), supporting broad inflammatory-disease positioning.

Near-term, the key milestones are:

IND-enabling progress for NTP464 (including final candidate selection and package readiness)
Clarification of first-in-human study design and indication choice (rheumatoid arthritis positioning has been stated, but protocol specifics drive comparability)
Evidence that additional genetically supported targets progress from validation into named programmes

The company describes a dual track: internal development of selected programmes while partnering others (or partnering around target discovery/patient stratification). The practical indicator to watch is whether partnerships include named targets, co-development commitments, or clinically actionable biomarker strategies rather than platform-only collaborations.

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