A decade after its launch by researchers affiliated with Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, privately held Athera Biotechnologies AB concluded the phase I program of its fully human monoclonal antibody, dubbed PC-mAb, and validated its safety and tolerability in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). The long road for the company included out-licensing of a second promising candidate to conserve capital and an option deal with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH (BI) that was terminated several years later when the German pharma reprioritized its R&D strategy.