Exogene

Exogene is an Oxford, UK-based biotechnology ("techbio") company that applies generative artificial intelligence and deep learning to the discovery and engineering of T-cell receptors (TCRs) for cancer therapy, with a focus on solid tumours. The company's stated premise is that human T-cells recognise and eliminate diseased cells via TCRs, but that safe, high-affinity TCRs against cancer targets are rare and difficult to identify using conventional wet-lab methods. Exogene's platform is described as mining the TCR sequence space to generate novel, high-affinity and non-cross-reactive TCRs against peptide-HLA targets that are shared across patients and tumour types [0][1].

The platform combines three elements: generative AI for TCR sequence generation, biophysical simulations to refine candidate TCRs in silico, and high-throughput TCR display technologies plus biophysical assays in the lab to validate AI-generated designs experimentally [3]. Earlier company materials also describe the use of deep sequencing and high-throughput TCR screening to identify rare, natural TCRs from human immune repertoires, which are then used to build a pipeline of TCR-based cell therapies [5][7]. A third-party profile characterises the approach as a "lab-in-the-loop" platform for designing multi-specific agents targeting peptide-HLA antigens [6].

Beyond oncology, the company has publicly described a longer-term ambition to extend the platform to immune-system rejuvenation by targeting and eliminating senescent T cells that accumulate with age [5][7]. The corporate entity, EXOGENE LIMITED (company number 12293407), was incorporated on 1 November 2019, is registered under SIC code 72110 (research and experimental development on biotechnology), and has a registered office at International House, 36-38 Cornhill, London [4].

Founding story

Exogene was co-founded by Federico Paoletti (CEO), a computational biologist with a PhD in Molecular and Computational Oncology from the University of Oxford and prior work at the World Health Organization, and Andrea Mambrini (CTO), a machine learning scientist with a PhD in Bio-Inspired Computation who previously led the ML team at Portent.io (acquired by YouGov) and worked at the European Space Agency, Honda Research Institute and Vodafone [0][1]. Investor materials list the company as founded in 2019 and affiliated with Entrepreneur First and the University of Oxford [7], and the UK corporate entity was incorporated on 1 November 2019 [4].

Business model

Exogene operates as a platform-based therapeutics company. It has stated plans to partner with pharma and biotech companies to discover TCRs for their therapeutic applications, while also developing its own pipeline of TCR-based cell therapies that could be out-licensed [5][7].

Company statements point to revenue from research collaborations and partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies for TCR discovery, alongside potential out-licensing of internally developed TCR-based cell therapy assets [5][7].

Traction

Publicly disclosed traction comprises a US$2 million funding round announced in April 2022 [5], a research collaboration with Immunocore Holdings plc announced in March 2024 that followed an earlier pilot project [3][5], and team growth to a staff listing of roughly 15 named employees and advisors on the company website [0][1]; a third-party data provider estimates approximately 15 employees and a headcount band of 11-50 [6].

Latest developments

In October 2025 the company highlighted a Building Biotechs podcast episode featuring CEO Federico Paoletti [0]. The Companies House record shows accounts last made up to 30 November 2025 and a confirmation statement dated 31 October 2025, with the company listed as active [4]. A third-party aggregator reports total funding of $2.3M across three rounds with a most recent round dated 1 October 2025 for $2M, labelled equity crowdfunding; this is not corroborated by company or primary sources [6].