Raleigh biotech startup Slate Medicines announces $130 million in funding

Slate Medicines, a new Raleigh biotechnology company developing treatments for migraine and headache disorders, has announced a $130 million Series A round of financing to advance its novel therapy.

Slate’s lead program, SLTE-1009, is a monoclonal antibody that could provide a new option to migraine patients who don’t respond to existing treatments. The company licensed the antibody from Chinese company DartsBio Pharmaceuticals and intends to start Phase 1 clinical trials in mid-2026.

The therapy differs from conventional migraine treatments known as CGRP inhibitors. SLTE-1009 blocks a protein known as PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide), which is found throughout the central nervous system and is believed to contribute to the onset of migraine.

In contrast, CGRP inhibitors block extra amounts of the calcitonin gene-related peptide, a helpful protein that contributes to migraine when levels in the body are too high.

“PACAP blockade represents a clinically validated approach for the prevention of migraine headaches,” Roger Cady, M.D., Slate’s chief medical officer, said in a news release. “For the millions of patients with an inadequate response to existing standard of care, we believe that SLTE-1009 offers a novel, orthogonal approach to preventing migraines.”

Slate said another distinction for SLTE-1009 is its half-life extension that enables subcutaneous dosing, or application under the skin.

The financing round was led by Boston-based RA Capital Management, a healthcare and life sciences investment manager with $14 billion in assets under management; Forbion, a venture capital firm headquartered in the Netherlands; San Francisco-based Foresite Capital, and an undisclosed biotech investor. The Triangle Business Journal reported that RA Capital has invested in Triangle biotech companies in the past, including Aktis Oncology, G1 Therapeutics and Precision BioSciences.

Slate is headed by CEO Gregory Oakes, who has more than 30 years of experience in biopharma. He joined Slate from Raven, RA Capital’s healthcare incubator.