# Character Biosciences

> Character Biosciences is a precision medicine company developing targeted therapies for progressive polygenic diseases, starting in ophthalmology with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). By pairing human genetics with longitudinal clinical and retinal imaging data from thousands of consented patients - and layering AI-enabled biomarker analysis on top - Character reclassifies broad diagnoses into genetically defined subtypes so it can design drugs that target the root drivers of disease progression. Its lead programs, CTX114 (a complement inhibitor for geographic atrophy) and CTX203 (a lipid regulator to prevent progression to advanced AMD), are advancing toward the clinic on the strength of a Series B that grew past $110 million.

- **Founded:** 2019
- **Headquarters:** Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
- **Founders:** Cheng Zhang (Co-Founder and CEO)
- **Team size:** ~53 employees
- **Products:** CTX114, CTX203, Character precision-medicine platform
- **Notable:** Raised an oversubscribed $93M Series B (March 2025), later extended past $110M total (September 2025)., Assembled an AMD observational network of 150+ ophthalmology centers and 6,500+ consented patients., Signed a therapeutics collaboration with category incumbent Bausch + Lomb.

## Products & services

- **CTX114** — A best-in-class complement inhibitor designed to slow the progression of geographic atrophy in advanced dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Advancing toward Phase 1/Phase 2 studies.
- **CTX203** — A first-in-class lipid regulator aimed at preventing progression to advanced AMD, targeting an earlier point in the disease timeline. Advancing toward the clinic.
- **Character precision-medicine platform** — A discovery engine that integrates human genetics, longitudinal clinical data, retinal imaging, and AI-enabled biomarker quantification across thousands of AMD and glaucoma patients to identify genetic drivers of progression and define disease subtypes for optimized drug design and trial enrollment.

## Achievements

- Raised an oversubscribed $93M Series B (March 2025), later extended past $110M total (September 2025).
- Assembled an AMD observational network of 150+ ophthalmology centers and 6,500+ consented patients.
- Signed a therapeutics collaboration with category incumbent Bausch + Lomb.
- Advanced two differentiated candidates, CTX114 and CTX203, toward clinical development.
- Attracted Sanofi Ventures and other blue-chip life-sciences investors to a genetics-first ophthalmology thesis.
- Successfully pivoted and rebranded from Clover Therapeutics into an independent precision-medicine company.

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Announced a Series B extension bringing the round past $110M total, with Sanofi Ventures joining, plus four senior appointments: Robert Kim, M.D., MBA (Chief Medical Officer), Daniel Elgort, Ph.D. (Chief Data & Analytics Officer), Josh Buddle (Head of Clinical Network and Longitudinal Research), and Jessamyn Wead (Head of People).
- **2025-03** — Closed an oversubscribed $93M Series B co-led by aMoon and Luma Group to advance CTX114 and CTX203 toward the clinic.
- **2025-01** — Entered a collaboration with Bausch + Lomb on novel AMD therapeutics.
- **2024-05** — Appointed Dr. Laura Carter as Chief Scientific Officer.
- **2022-05** — Rebranded from Clover Therapeutics to Character Biosciences alongside an $18M financing.

## Links

- Website: https://characterbio.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/character-biosciences

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/character-biosciences
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-22