Some companies raise capital. Others inhale it like oxygen, hold it in their lungs, and come back speaking in full sentences. ILiAD Biotechnologies just secured $115M in an oversubscribed Series B. RA Capital Management led the round with the kind of conviction that only shows up after deep diligence. Janus Henderson Investors and BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts stepped in as new believers. Existing backers AI Life Sciences and a multinational pharmaceutical company doubled down. That is not polite support. That is capital leaning forward. Congratulations to Keith Rubin, M.D., Founder and CEO, and Stephanie Noviello, M.D., M.P.H., CMO, for navigating a clinical stage biotech through a market that rewards proof, not promises.
Now the science. ILiAD Biotechnologies is advancing BPZE1, a live attenuated intranasal pertussis vaccine built to do what current shots struggle to accomplish. Not just blunt symptoms. Not just boost antibodies on paper. Block colonization. Reduce transmission. Build durable mucosal immunity where infection actually begins. 4 completed clinical trials in healthy adults. A 300-participant Phase 2b human challenge trial demonstrating durable mucosal immunity and reduced nasal colonization. FDA Fast Track designation already in hand. A pivotal human challenge trial planned to begin in 2026 with data expected in 2027. This is not theoretical ambition. This is a program moving on a clock.
The name ILiAD carries a certain poetry. An epic battle. Pertussis has been staging quiet comebacks while legacy vaccines fade in durability. ILiAD Biotechnologies is not polishing yesterday’s solution. The approach is intranasal, live attenuated, engineered to meet the pathogen at the door instead of chasing it down the hallway. Change transmission and you change the math of public health.
The $115M does more than finance Phase 3 development. It strengthens the broader B Tech Vector Platform, a proprietary system using attenuated Bordetella pertussis as a vector to deliver antigens from other pathogens. Tuberculosis is already in scope with support from NIH and NIAID. When a platform moves from whooping cough to TB, you are not building a single asset. You are building leverage with a lab coat.
There is a lesson for founders watching this unfold. Data compounds. Regulatory progress compounds. Discipline compounds. Oversubscribed rounds rarely appear for science projects. They appear for programs that survive scrutiny and keep advancing when sentiment wobbles.
