Avenue Biosciences, Inc.

Founded in 2023 in California, US, Avenue Biosciences Oy engaged in protein engineering. In January 2026, Avenue Biosciences, Inc. raised USD 5. 7 million in seed funding co-led by investors Balnord and Tesi, with participation from investors Voima Ventures, Inventure, University of Helsinki, and Dimerent.

The round was a part of larger USD 8 million seed funding. The company was co-founded by Tero-Pekka Alastalo (CEO), Katja Rosti, and Juho Kellosalo. Avenue Biosciences offers advanced protein engineering solution powered by machine learning, focusing on enhancing the production yield and quality of biologics. Their core offerings include a proprietary platform that simultaneously analyzes thousands of naturally occurring and genetically engineered signal peptides, significantly improving protein expression, particularly for difficult-to-express proteins.

This technology is applicable across various sectors, including biotechnology tools, therapeutic development, and vaccine discovery, catering to clients involved in mRNA therapies, synthetic proteins, and biosimilars. Avenue Biosciences aims to serve a global market, targeting regions with biopharmaceutical industries, including North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. Avenue Biosciences generates revenue through partnerships and collaborations with other companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. The company’s revenue structure consists of service agreements where clients engage Avenue Biosciences to employ its protein engineering platform for specific projects, potentially leading to long-term collaborations.

This includes fee-for-service agreements or milestone payments based on successful outcomes, such as enhanced protein yields or the successful development of new therapies. The firm also pursues revenue through licensing agreements for its proprietary technologies, allowing clients to utilize Avenue’s innovations in their own research and development efforts. Specific pricing plans are determined based on the scope and scale of services rendered, aligning with the industry standards for advanced biopharmaceutical development.   The company will use the January 2026 funding to scale the first technology for measuring and modulating the efficacy of the protein secretory pathway, a critical bottleneck affecting the development and manufacturing of therapeutic proteins.