Orbital Therapeutics
Acquired13 known investors
A pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics across oncology, hematology, neuroscience, immunology, and cardiovascular disease with a pipeline of 50 compounds targeting 40+ disease areas.
Also known as Orbital
Investors Β· 13
Also in the syndicate Β· 8
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountSeries AAug 2025Source β
Source: company announcements and press reports β follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Orbital Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on RNA-based medicines, with a stated mission of enhancing global health by unleashing the full potential of RNA medicines to treat human disease. The company set out to broaden the applicability of RNA therapeutics across areas including next-generation vaccines, immunomodulation and protein replacement.
Orbital described building a "first-in-kind" RNA platform integrating both established and emerging RNA technologies and delivery mechanisms, designed to extend the durability of its RNA therapeutics and expand delivery to a wider range of cell types and tissues. The company was co-founded by Giuseppe Ciaramella, Ph.D. (CEO) together with Kristina Burow of ARCH Venture Partners, who serves as a board director; Gilles Besin, Ph.D. served as chief scientific officer.
A press release hosted on the company's domain indicates that Bristol Myers Squibb acquired Orbital Therapeutics to strengthen and diversify its cell therapy portfolio. The orbitaltx.com domain now redirects to Bristol Myers Squibb corporate content, and the retrieved pages contain no remaining Orbital-specific material beyond page titles and URLs.
Founding story
Orbital was co-founded by Giuseppe Ciaramella, Ph.D., who serves as chief executive officer, and by Kristina Burow, managing partner at ARCH Venture Partners, who is a co-founder and board director. Ciaramella stated that the company had been focused since founding on advancing its platform of RNA technologies to identify the most promising initial programs.
Traction
Reported traction is limited to financing and organizational milestones: a $270 million Series A round with a broad syndicate of institutional and strategic investors (reported by one aggregator as a $300 million round), a leadership team expansion, and an acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb. No clinical-stage or program-level milestones are stated in the available sources.
Latest developments
The most recent development evidenced is Bristol Myers Squibb's acquisition of Orbital Therapeutics, announced via a press release on the Orbital domain; the domain now serves Bristol Myers Squibb corporate content, including a Bristol Myers Squibb pipeline summary of 49 compounds in development across 40+ disease areas as of July 30, 2026. These pipeline figures pertain to Bristol Myers Squibb rather than to Orbital's own portfolio.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Investor commentary in the Series A announcement framed Orbital as combining know-how, technology and biologic insights intended to address the breadth of RNA medicine opportunities, and the company characterizes its integrated RNA technology and delivery platform as first-in-kind.
Technology
Orbital states it is building an RNA platform that integrates established and emerging RNA technologies together with delivery mechanisms. The platform is described as designed to extend the durability of the company's RNA therapeutics and to broaden delivery across a range of cell types and tissues, supporting applications in next-generation vaccines, immunomodulation and protein replacement.
History
Signalbase lists a founding year of 2022. The company issued a launch announcement describing plans to advance next-generation RNA medicines, and subsequently announced the close of a $270 million Series A financing led by ARCH Venture Partners, accompanied by the appointment of a chief operating officer and chief financial officer. A later press release on the company's domain describes Bristol Myers Squibb acquiring Orbital Therapeutics as part of expanding its cell therapy portfolio.
Risks & controversies
Source coverage is inconsistent on the size of the Series A: the company press release headline and a trade report state $270 million, while an aggregator profile states $300 million. In addition, all Orbital-specific pages on orbitaltx.com now return Bristol Myers Squibb corporate content, so primary company material (platform, pipeline, news) is no longer independently verifiable from the domain.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Founder mafia
4 people who came through Orbital Therapeutics went on to found or lead other companies.
Competitors Β· 3
by search overlapCompanies competing with Orbital Therapeutics for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline Β· 4
launches, deals, and filingsA press release hosted on the Orbital Therapeutics domain states that Bristol Myers Squibb strengthened and diversified its cell therapy portfolio with the acquisition of Orbital Therapeutics. The retrieved page body contains only Bristol Myers Squibb corporate content, so deal terms and the announcement date are not available from the source.
Orbital Therapeutics announced the closing of a $270 million Series A round led by ARCH Venture Partners, with participation from initial investors a16z Bio + Health and Newpath Partners and new investors including Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, Redmile Group, Exor N.V., Invus, Moore Strategic Ventures, iGlobe Platinum Fund Group, Casdin Capital, Agent Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, Rellim Capital Management and Heritage Medical Systems. Proceeds were intended to expand the company's RNA platform and portfolio.
$270M source β
Alongside the Series A, Orbital expanded its leadership team, naming Niru Subramanian (previously COO of Rheos Medicines and SVP corporate development at Agios Pharmaceuticals) chief operating officer and Jonathan Piazza (previously CFO of Silverback Therapeutics) chief financial officer. They joined CSO Gilles Besin and CEO Giuseppe Ciaramella on the executive leadership team.
A press release titled "Orbital Therapeutics launches to advance new frontiers of science with the next generation of innovative RNA medicines" is hosted on the company's domain; the retrieved page body no longer contains the release text.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- Orbital Therapeuticsorbitaltx.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Orbital Therapeutics do?
- RNA medicines company that raised a $270M Series A and was subsequently acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb.
- Who are Orbital Therapeutics's investors?
- Orbital Therapeutics's investors include Andreessen Horowitz, ARCH Venture Partners, iGlobe Partners, Agent Capital, Newpath Partners.