BOSTON, Dec. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrada Therapeutics, a biotechnology company dedicated to transforming the treatment of devastating diseases through the intracellular delivery of biologics, today announced it has raised $59 million in a Series A financing. The financing was co-led by 5AM Ventures and MPM Capital, along with Roche Venture Fund, MRL Ventures Fund (MRLV) and Agent Capital.

"With this financing, Entrada is well-positioned to advance multiple programs through the application of our proprietary intracellular biologics platform," said Dipal Doshi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Entrada Therapeutics. "Entrada has an opportunity to create the next generation of therapeutics for previously undruggable intracellular targets. Leveraging the exciting science from the lab of our Co-Founder, Dehua Pei, at The Ohio State University, we look forward to building a world-class team that will translate this platform into meaningful therapies."

Entrada was funded and incubated within 5AM's 4:59 Initiative via a seed investment by 5AM Ventures, Roche Venture Fund and MRLV. Entrada's proprietary intracellular biologics platform has the demonstrated ability to deliver a variety of modalities into the cytosol of the cell, allowing for the development of programs across several intracellular target classes. Entrada's delivery vehicles boast improved bioavailability, biodistribution, metabolic stability and enhanced efficiency compared to previous gold standards. The Company is applying its platform to the delivery of intracellular enzyme replacement therapies, protein-protein interaction inhibitors and nucleic acids.

The first application of Entrada's platform is focused on treating a rare and fatal mitochondrial disease with no approved treatments that is caused by mutations in a gene that codes for an intracellular enzyme. The Series A financing will allow Entrada to advance its lead program into human clinical trials. Additionally, the Company plans on broadening its rare, monogenic disease pipeline by identifying and progressing additional intracellular enzyme replacement therapies.

"Patients with severe, debilitating diseases still suffer without suitable treatment options," said Kush Parmar, M.D., Ph.D., Managing Partner at 5AM Ventures. "Entrada has an executive team that is capable of tackling the challenges posed by the delivery of biologics into the cell. Entrada is focused on leveraging a highly validated biological mechanism to fundamentally change the standard of care for several of these diseases via multiple intracellular targets."

"Entrada's unique vision to transform the treatment paradigm of certain diseases via intracellular biologics delivery could result in innovative treatments for thousands of patients," said Todd Foley, Managing Director at MPM Capital. "While there has been extensive development of biologics that address extracellular targets, there is a significant opportunity for novel biologics that address intracellular targets. Entrada's strategy and technology address this profound unmet need."

Executive Team and Board of Directors

Executive Team

Dipal Doshi is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Entrada Therapeutics. Mr. Doshi has over 20 years of pharmaceutical experience, most recently serving as the Chief Business Officer for Amicus Therapeutics. Mr. Doshi led Amicus' business and corporate development, global strategy, new product planning and commercial planning functions. Prior to Amicus, Mr. Doshi worked for Auven Therapeutics, Catalent Pharma Solutions, Merrill Lynch and Eli Lilly. Mr. Doshi received a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Natarajan Sethuraman, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer of Entrada Therapeutics. Prior to this role, Dr. Sethuraman was Executive Director and the GlycoFi Site Head at Merck, where he was responsible for the development of GlycoFi's glycoengineered platform for differentiated biologics. Dr. Sethuraman holds a B.S. from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and a Ph.D. in Entomology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute.

Board of Directors

In addition to Mr. Doshi, Dr. Parmar and Mr. Foley, the Entrada Board of Directors also includes:

• Anja Harmeier, Ph.D., Investment Director, Roche Venture Fund
• Christine Brennan, Ph.D., Partner, MRLV
• Lou Tartaglia, Ph.D., Venture Partner, 5AM Ventures. Dr. Tartaglia also served as Entrada's Chief Executive Officer during the formation of the Company.
• Dehua Pei, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor and Jason Ruth, Senior Associate, 5AM Ventures will serve as Board Observers.

About Entrada Therapeutics

Entrada Therapeutics' mission is to treat devastating diseases through the intracellular delivery of biologics. Entrada's technology enables the efficient intracellular delivery of proteins, peptides and nucleic acids, thus allowing for the development of programs across several intracellular target classes. The Company's novel approach addresses current challenges associated with both large and small molecule therapeutics and represents a fundamental advancement in the delivery of molecules into the cytosol. For more information, please visit www.entradatx.com.

Company Contact:
Cecilia Sun
Entrada Therapeutics
cecilia@entradatx.com

Media Contact:
Maggie Beller
Russo Partners, LLC
(646) 942-5631
maggie.beller@russopartnersllc.com

SOURCE Entrada Therapeutics

Related Links

http://www.entradatx.com