Hervolution Therapeutics

HERVolution Therapeutics (formerly InProTher Aps) is a dark genome-focused biotechnology company headquartered in Frederiksberg, Denmark, pioneering novel immunotherapies that target Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs) — specifically HERV-K — as therapeutic antigens in cancer, metabolic disease, and aging-related conditions. Founded in 2019 by University of Copenhagen researcher Peter Holst, the company is based on the discovery that HERVs, genetic remnants of ancient retroviruses integrated into the human genome, become aberrantly reactivated in chronic inflammation, metabolic stress, and cancer, driving immune evasion, cellular senescence, and disease progression. HERVolution has rationally redesigned HERV-K antigens to break immune tolerance, demonstrating human immune cell activation toward HERVs for the first time, and is developing off-the-shelf immunotherapy assets targeting HERV-K across oncology and type 2 diabetes. The company raised an $11.7 million Series A in December 2024 and a further $6.5 million to bring total funding to approximately $18.2 million.