NATICK, Mass. - Sep 16, 2025 (UTC) - AllRock Bio Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on advancing therapies for cardiopulmonary and fibrotic diseases, announced a $50 million Series A round co-led by Versant Ventures and Westlake BioPartners. Proceeds will advance AllRock’s lead molecule, ROC-101, which the company exclusively licensed from Sanofi, into Phase 2 clinical development.
ROC-101 is a first-in-class, oral pan-rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitor to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension with interstitial lung disease (ILD-PH). Both are life-threatening conditions with five-year survival rates of 57% and 38%, respectively, and very limited disease-modifying treatments exist for these patients.
“Today’s launch highlights the value of our pan-ROCK inhibitor approach, which addresses the fundamental drivers, not just the symptoms, of cardiopulmonary diseases, beginning with PAH and ILD-PH,” said Catherine Pearce, DHSc, MBA, AllRock CEO and co-founder. “In identifying this asset, we listened to KOLs and clinicians who emphasized the importance of developing a therapy that blocks the non-redundant roles of both ROCK1 and ROCK2.”
AllRock’s Phase 2a ROCSTAR clinical trial will evaluate ROC-101 in combination with standard of care in PAH and ILD-PH patients and is expected to start in late 2025. The company’s latest Phase 1 data will be presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress, held September 27-October 1 in Amsterdam.
“We are pleased to work with this team again in the formation of AllRock following our past successful collaboration on CinCor and bringing baxdrostat to the clinic,” said David Allison, PhD, Managing Director at Westlake BioPartners. “We are confident that this team is poised to advance a truly meaningful therapeutic option to patients living with debilitating disease.”
“The strong safety profile that ROC-101 has demonstrated in Phase 1 validates the transformative potential of pan-ROCK inhibition,” said Alicia Levey, PhD, Venture Partner at Versant Ventures and AllRock board member. “We look forward to AllRock’s near-term readouts for ROC-101 as well as progress from its expanding pipeline.”
The company’s leadership comprises industry veterans from biotech and pharma with a track record of success, most notably from CinCor Pharma, which was acquired by AstraZeneca for up to $1.8 billion in 2023. The leadership team includes CEO and Co-Founder Catherine Pearce, CBO and Co-Founder Justin Thompson, CMO Bill Marshall, and VP Medical Kate Steiner.
AllRock was founded by JucaBio, a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company built on the hub-and-spoke model that acquires high-quality, differentiated assets and builds agile NewCos that execute focused drug development.
About AllRock Bio
AllRock Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on advancing therapies for cardiopulmonary and fibrotic diseases. The company’s lead candidate, ROC-101, is a first-in-class, oral pan-ROCK inhibitor being developed to address the urgent unmet need in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and other life-threatening fibrotic diseases. With a seasoned leadership team and a commitment to addressing unmet need, AllRock is dedicated to bringing a new class of disease-modifying therapies to patients.
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