Flagship Pioneering merges Etiome, Cellarity and Empress Therapeutics into Etcelera

Oct 29, 2026

Flagship Pioneering announced on October 29, 2026, the merger of portfolio biotechs Etiome, Cellarity, and Empress Therapeutics into Etcelera. Led by former Adaptimmune CEO Adrian Rawcliffe, the venture combines AI and perturbation data to target hematological, immune, and metabolic-fibrotic diseases, including myelofibrosis. Supported by $374 million in prior capital and a Novo partnership, Etcelera seeks further industry alliances.

Formation and leadership of Etcelera

▪Flagship Pioneering announced on October 29, 2026, that it merged portfolio companies Etiome, Cellarity, and Empress Therapeutics to form a new venture called Etcelera.
▪Flagship Pioneering senior partner Alec Reynolds serves as chair of Etcelera's board of directors.
▪Etcelera is led by Chief Executive Officer Adrian 'Ad' Rawcliffe, the former chief executive officer of Adaptimmune and veteran of GSK.

Platform technology and methodology

▪Etcelera utilizes perturbation data, measuring cellular responses to disruptions such as gene silencing or chemical introduction, to inform its drug discovery platform.
▪Etcelera aims to use computational biology and machine learning trained on biological language to predict biological system behavior and evaluate drug clinical success odds.
▪Etcelera combines the drug discovery tools of Etiome, Cellarity, and Empress Therapeutics with Flagship Pioneering's in-house artificial intelligence capabilities to pinpoint disease drivers and discover small molecule medicines.

Therapeutic focus and pipeline programs

▪Etcelera intends to develop medicines targeting hematological conditions, immune diseases, and metabolic-fibrotic disorders.
▪Etcelera is initiating drug development programs for hematological conditions including myelofibrosis and essential thrombocythemia.

Finances and corporate partnerships

▪Flagship Pioneering announced no new funding alongside Etcelera's public launch on October 29, 2026.
▪Etcelera will retain a 2022 research partnership between Novo and Cellarity focused on discovering a small molecule treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
▪Etiome, Cellarity, and Empress Therapeutics had raised a combined $374 million in venture capital backing prior to their merger into Etcelera.
▪Etcelera is preparing a second pharmaceutical alliance with an unnamed large pharmaceutical firm.