Paragon spinout Velaris Therapeutics goes public via reverse merger with Alaunos, raising $350 million

Paragon Labs, a biotechnology incubator, announced that its latest spinout, Velaris Therapeutics, became a public company through a reverse merger with Alaunos Therapeutics.

The transaction places Velaris' heart and lung disease programs at the core of the combined entity, while four of the five board seats are filled by individuals linked to Fairmount Funds, the firm that founded Paragon.

Alongside the merger, Fairmount led a private stock offering that raised roughly $350 million to fund Velaris' research and support ongoing operations.

Alaunos, which had previously abandoned its cell‑therapy pipeline and faced Nasdaq listing threats, uses the deal as a strategic lifeline.