Solve Therapeutics Raises $120 Million to Accelerate Next-Generation ADC Development for Solid Tumors
Solve Therapeutics, a rapidly advancing clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on creating best-in-class antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of solid tumor malignancies, announced that it has secured $120 million in an oversubscribed and upsized financing round. The new capital will be used to accelerate the development of the company’s clinical pipeline as well as further expand its proprietary CloakLink™ linker technology platform—an innovation designed to overcome longstanding challenges in ADC design, stability, and therapeutic performance.
The financing was led by Yosemite, with robust participation from a diverse group of new and existing global healthcare and biotechnology investors. New investors in the round include Abingworth, Ally Bridge Group, B Capital, Balyasny Asset Management, Merck & Co., and SymBiosis. They join existing backers such as Alexandria Venture Investments, AyurMaya Capital Management, DC Global Ventures, General Atlantic, and Surveyor Capital, a Citadel company. The traction from both new and returning investors underscores the market’s strong confidence in Solve’s scientific strategy, clinical trajectory, and long-term vision.
This financing follows Solve’s $75 million raise completed in December 2024, bringing the company’s total capital raised to an impressive $321 million. With this momentum, Solve Therapeutics is positioning itself as one of the most promising innovators in the ADC space, particularly for the treatment of solid tumors—a field that has historically been difficult to address due to unique biological, pharmacokinetic, and delivery-related challenges.
A New Approach to ADCs for Solid Tumors
Solve Therapeutics was founded around a central mission: to develop next-generation ADCs that could finally overcome the hurdles that have limited the success of earlier ADC technologies in solid tumor indications. While ADCs have delivered meaningful breakthroughs in certain hematologic cancers, success has been more limited in solid tumors. Many conventional ADCs experience issues arising from hydrophobic payloads—highly potent cytotoxic molecules that are attached to antibodies to create targeted cancer therapies.
These hydrophobic payloads can contribute to suboptimal pharmacokinetics, including rapid clearance, aggregation problems, and reduced plasma stability. Together, these factors can lead to compromised therapeutic windows and increased toxicity—issues that make many ADCs unsuitable or less effective for solid tumors.
To address this, Solve developed its CloakLink™ linker platform, engineered from the ground up to improve ADC stability while minimizing hydrophobicity across a wide range of drug-to-antibody ratios (DARs). By reducing the hydrophobic interactions that often destabilize ADCs, CloakLink™ supports improved pharmacokinetics and enhanced plasma stability, strengthening the overall therapeutic index. Importantly, the platform is designed to support a broad array of payloads, making it adaptable for future ADC innovations.
According to Solve, CloakLink™ results in ADCs that not only retain but also enhance potency, reduce off-target toxicity, and improve the selectivity necessary for safe and effective cancer treatment. These improvements provide a blueprint for next-generation ADCs that could bring the benefits of this therapeutic modality to a wider and more challenging set of tumor types.
Advancing a Pipeline of Clinical-Stage ADCs
Solve Therapeutics’ progress is anchored by its two lead programs—SLV-154 and SLV-324—both of which are currently being evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trials for patients with advanced solid tumors. These programs reflect the company’s core scientific philosophy: integrating precise antigen targeting with superior ADC engineering to create therapies with enhanced safety, efficacy, and durability.
Both candidates utilize the CloakLink™ linker platform and incorporate antibodies specifically engineered for optimal performance within ADC constructs. The antibodies are selected based on tumor-specific biology and then optimized to support high-performance conjugation and consistent delivery of payloads.
Furthermore, Solve complements its ADC therapeutics with a suite of novel diagnostic approaches designed to enhance precision patient selection. This diagnostic innovation is an important differentiating factor. By identifying patients most likely to benefit from specific antigen-expressing tumors, Solve aims to maximize therapeutic impact while reducing unnecessary exposure. The financing will support the advancement of both clinical programs through their Phase 1b studies, enabling more robust assessments of safety, pharmacodynamics, and early efficacy signals.
With the expansion of clinical efforts, Solve is also scaling its operational capabilities, refining manufacturing infrastructure, and preparing for the more complex demands associated with later-stage development. These investments will position the company to accelerate pivotal trial planning and establish the foundation for future regulatory and commercial strategies.
Investor Confidence Fueled by Platform Strength and Clinical Momentum
Solve’s newest funding round brings together a sophisticated investor syndicate with deep experience in oncology, biologics, and innovative therapeutics.
“We’re thrilled to partner with an outstanding syndicate of investors who share our vision for developing best-in-class ADCs,” said Dave Johnson, CEO and Co-Founder of Solve Therapeutics. “Since founding the company, we’ve built a differentiated platform that combines next-generation ADC engineering, a superior hydrophilic linker system, and novel patient-selection diagnostics. This investment syndicate represents a strong endorsement of our science, our team, and our mission to develop more effective and safer targeted therapies for patients with solid tumors.”
Investors echoed these sentiments, pointing to the strength of the CloakLink™ platform and Solve’s integrated diagnostic strategy as major reasons for their enthusiasm.
“Solve is the next wave of ADC innovation,” said Dan McHugh, Investor at Yosemite and a Solve Therapeutics board member. “By integrating therapeutic development with a novel diagnostic platform, Solve is pushing the boundaries of precision oncology and enabling a more personalized, effective approach to cancer care. Yosemite is excited to support the excellence and innovation demonstrated by this best-in-class team.”
A Leadership Team with Proven Oncology Expertise
Solve Therapeutics benefits from founders and scientific leaders with deep track records in oncology drug development and successful company building. The company’s leadership includes individuals behind VelosBio, acquired by Merck, and Acerta Pharma, acquired by AstraZeneca—two organizations that delivered category-defining cancer therapeutics and generated multi-billion-dollar exits.
This expertise shapes Solve’s strategy of combining advanced biologics engineering with finely tuned clinical development and precise biomarker-driven patient selection. Their experience provides invaluable guidance as the company transitions from early clinical proof-of-concept toward broader, later-stage trials.
Positioning Solve as a Leader in the Future of ADC Therapy
The ADC landscape is undergoing rapid evolution, with next-generation technologies focused on improving stability, tolerability, payload diversity, and tumor targeting. Solve Therapeutics stands at the forefront of this evolution, offering a novel linker platform and integrated diagnostic capabilities that position the company for leadership in the treatment of solid tumors—one of the most challenging frontiers in oncology.
Backed by substantial new financing and supported by world-class investors, Solve is poised to advance its clinical programs, scale its platform, and expand its pipeline of differentiated ADC candidates. As the company progresses through early-stage clinical milestones, the integrated approach of optimized ADC design paired with precision diagnostics may redefine what effective and safe targeted therapy looks like for solid tumor patients.
With a steadily growing dataset, significant momentum in clinical execution, and strong investor validation, Solve Therapeutics is emerging as one of the most compelling innovators in the next generation of targeted oncology.
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