NEW YORK — Helex, a therapeutics company developing a new class of targeted medicines for genetic kidney diseases, announced it has closed an oversubscribed $3.5 million seed round led by pi Ventures, with participation from Bluehill Capital, SOSV, and a global syndicate of investors. With this round, Helex has raised more than $6 million in total funding to date.
Helex is pioneering a new approach to treating chronic and rare kidney disorders through programmable non-viral lipid nanoparticle (LNP) therapeutics that deliver therapeutic cargo directly to kidney cells — a long-standing challenge in drug delivery. By solving this problem, the company aims to unlock a new class of disease-modifying medicines for millions of patients who currently lack effective treatment options.
The company’s lead program targets Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD), an inherited disorder primarily caused by mutations in the PKD1 or PKD2 genes that affects more than 12 million people worldwide. The disease leads to gradual cyst formation and declining renal function, often resulting in dialysis or kidney transplant. Helex’s goal is to change that trajectory with a single-dose, non-viral gene editing therapy designed to halt or significantly slow disease progression.
“This is more than a new treatment; it’s a new hope,” said Dr. Poulami Chaudhuri, co-founder and CEO of Helex. “For far too long, patients with ADPKD have had to rely only on symptom management, with no true disease-modifying options. By enabling targeted delivery of genomic medicines directly to the kidney, we are developing a transformative therapy that is accessible and affordable for every patient who needs it. This seed round marks just the beginning of our journey.”
Roopan Aulakh, managing partner at pi Ventures, said ADPKD represents a significant unmet medical need, with current treatments limited to symptom management and not effective for all patients. “Gene therapies are emerging as one of the most promising frontiers in medicine,” he said. “Helex’s first-in-class mechanism of action has the potential to be a curative therapy and positions the company to build a differentiated pipeline of therapies for kidney diseases. We are thrilled to back this world-class team.”
Helex was founded by three longtime collaborators and King’s College London alumni: Dr. Poulami Chaudhuri, CEO, an expert in non-viral delivery and genetic diseases; Rohini Kalvakuntla, CBO, who brings extensive business development and payer strategy experience for advanced therapies; and Anirudh Nishtala, COO, who has more than a decade of experience in drug development, sales, and operations. The company also announced the appointment of Dr. Suman Alishetty, a lipid expert and former scientific co-founder of AexeRNA (acquired by BioNTech), as Vice President of Drug Delivery.
“As the first investor in Helex, I’ve had the privilege of watching the founding team turn one of biotech’s hardest challenges — kidney-targeted delivery — into a real, clinically meaningful opportunity,” said Stephen Chambers, general partner at SOSV and managing director at IndieBio. “By combining proprietary kidney-tropic LNPs with their AI-driven Epic-Cure platform, Helex is building a pipeline that could transform outcomes for millions of patients with genetic kidney diseases. This is the kind of company we back at SOSV — bold, mission-driven, and capable of shaping the future of medicine.”
The new funding will enable Helex to advance its lead ADPKD program toward IND-enabling studies and expand its pipeline using its programmable LNP delivery and AI-based drug design platforms. The company remains committed to building a strong portfolio of renal programs aimed at improving and transforming patients’ lives.
