--- title: 'Funding Daily Summary: What Happened on October 22, 2026' headline: AptaDir raises €40 million seed round for fragile X program description: Arctic Therapeutics also raised $21.5 million to advance two autoimmune candidates toward clinical testing. url: https://thebench.bio/news/funding/2026-10-22 topic: funding date: '2026-10-22' covers: - '2026-10-22' date_published: '2026-10-22T12:01:04Z' date_modified: '2026-10-22T12:01:04Z' tags: - Funding - Industry sources: 2 publisher: TheBench.Bio --- # Funding Daily Summary: What Happened on October 22, 2026 **AptaDir raises €40 million seed round for fragile X program** Arctic Therapeutics also raised $21.5 million to advance two autoimmune candidates toward clinical testing. ## Today in brief AptaDir Therapeutics raised €40 million to advance its fragile X syndrome program, which aims to reactivate silenced genes. [1] Arctic Therapeutics raised $21.5 million to advance two autoimmune drug candidates toward clinical testing. [2] ## Also worth knowing - AptaDir is developing RNA-DNA chimeras that block a methylation enzyme at a specific genetic location to reactivate silenced genes. CEO Giovanni Amabile said the financing should fund four years of work, including a Phase I trial he hopes to start in about 18 months. [1] - Arctic said its round was oversubscribed and will support AT-002 and AT-003 as they move toward clinical testing. [2] ## The day in numbers - **€40 million**: AptaDir's seed financing for its fragile X syndrome program. [1] - **$21.5 million**: Arctic Therapeutics' financing to advance two autoimmune candidates. [2] ## Sources 1. [AptaDir: Switching silenced genes back on with targeted demethylation](), BioCentury, 2026-10-22 2. [Arctic Therapeutics raises $21.5M to take autoimmune programs to clinic](), European Biotechnology, 2026-10-22 --- TheBench.Bio wrote this from the reporting cited above, with a language model drafting and editing. [1]: [2]: