In a sector where “groundbreaking” is the standard adjective, a South African company is making a claim that might just warrant it. Altera Biosciences, branding itself as Africa’s first dedicated cell and gene therapy startup, has closed a R29M (approximately $1.6M) pre-seed round to pursue the lofty ambition of creating universal donor cells.
The funding, a notable sum for a pre-seed deeptech venture on the continent, was led by the venture builder OneBio Venture Studio and E Squared Investments. They are betting on a classic founder pairing: entrepreneur Alexandra Miszewski providing the business acumen and Professor Michael Pepper, a top-ranked scientist, heading the research.
Their goal is to tackle a problem that has plagued medicine for decades: immune rejection. For investors, the pitch is catnip: a ‘first on the continent’ startup tackling a multi-billion dollar problem with a compelling scientific narrative.
The Holy Grail of ‘Off-the-Shelf’ Therapy
For anyone who hasn’t spent time in a lab or an operating theatre, the concept is both simple and profoundly difficult. When a patient receives transplanted cells or organs, their immune system often identifies the new tissue as a foreign invader and attacks it, leading to rejection. Finding a compatible donor is a biological lottery, especially in genetically diverse populations.
Altera’s proposed solution lies in the long-promised land of ‘off-the-shelf’ therapies.
“One of the biggest challenges in transplantation medicine is to find a suitable donor-recipient match,” explains cofounder Alexandra Miszewski, whose entrepreneurial background includes several medical and biotech ventures.
The company plans to use gene-silencing technology to effectively create ‘stealth’ cells. By editing out the specific genetic markers that flag the cells as “foreign,” Altera aims to develop a cell line that can be given to any patient without triggering an immune response.
“In doing so, the recipient’s body can accept the cells as their own, and the problem of rejection is minimized,” Miszewski adds, with the calm confidence of someone who has successfully pitched the idea more than once.
If successful — a gargantuan ‘if’ in the world of biotech — this universal donor platform could be applied to everything from treating diabetes with insulin-producing cells to developing next-generation cancer therapies. Altera is, for now, keeping its specific initial targets under wraps, a standard move to protect its intellectual property.
The Africa Advantage
While the science is complex, the investment thesis has a unique hook. The startup argues that its location is a strategic asset.
“Africa is the most genetically diverse continent in the world, making it a relevant setting in which to develop advanced therapies,” says Professor Pepper, who directs the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Pretoria.
The subtle dig at the rest of the world is that many existing therapies are developed using data from relatively homogenous populations, which can limit their global effectiveness.
“By building solutions from a globally diverse genetic foundation, our research has the potential to be more universally applicable from day one,” Pepper notes. It’s a compelling argument: start with the most complex genetic environment to build something that works for everyone.
For their part, the investors are buying into a high-risk, high-reward vision. OneBio, as a venture builder, doesn’t just write cheques; its model involves co-founding and incubating companies like Altera from the ground up. This hands-on approach is almost a necessity in a nascent ecosystem for a capital-intensive field like biotechnology.
However, the path from a lab in Pretoria to a global market is long and breathtakingly expensive. This $1.6M pre-seed round is merely the fuel to get the engine started. The journey ahead is littered with scientific hurdles, regulatory minefields like the FDA and EMA, and the need for future funding rounds that will likely dwarf this initial investment.
Altera has the story, the team, and the initial cash. Now, it faces the unenviable task of turning a brilliant concept into a biological reality. The global biotech community will be watching to see if Africa’s first gene therapy gambit pays off.
Backed by venture builder OneBio and E Squared, the South African startup is taking a shot at one of biotech’s holy grails: the universal donor cell.