Aligos Therapeutics

Aligos Therapeutics

Aligos Therapeutics was founded in 2018 by Lawrence Blatt, a longtime antiviral researcher who previously led Alios BioPharma to a $1.75 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. Blatt assembled a founding team of former Alios and Janssen scientists and secured early backing from a syndicate including Roche Venture Fund, Novo Holdings, and Wellington Management. The firm is headquartered in South San Francisco. The company's pipeline targets liver diseases and viral infections through a multi-pronged approach. Aligos advances oligonucleotide therapies aimed at functional cure for chronic hepatitis B, alongside small-molecule candidates for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. A SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitor program was also part of the early portfolio. The company has historically operated through research collaborations with academic centers and contract research organizations rather than acquiring portfolio companies. Its strategic footprint spans the US biotech corridor and European trial sites. Aligos completed an IPO on Nasdaq in October 2020, raising roughly $150 million, with a clinical pipeline then spanning HBV, NASH, and coronavirus indications. In January 2024, the company discontinued a Phase 2a study of its NASH candidate ALG-055009 after interim data failed to meet efficacy thresholds, redirecting resources toward its hepatitis B portfolio. The firm does not operate adjacent vehicles or disclosed philanthropic foundations. The firm's architecture is that of a single-asset biotech platform: a unified scientific team with multiple programs, rather than a fund vehicle or discovery incubator. Its structural distinction lies in a pipeline designed for individual partnering or licensing of drug candidates, allowing the company to advance core programs internally while exploring strategic deals for deprioritized assets.