Envisagenics Raises Series A Financing to Scale Its AI-powered RNA Splicing Drug Discovery Platform

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Envisagenics, an Artificial Intelligence-driven biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel RNA splicing therapeutics, secured Series A financing to scale its drug discovery platform and biopharmaceutical partnerships. Red Cell Partners led the financing, which included investments from Microsoft's M12, Madrona Venture Group, Third Kind Venture Capital, Dynamk Capital, and Empire State Development's venture capital arm, New York Ventures.

Envisagenics' co-founder and CEO, Maria Luisa Pineda, PhD., said that the minority and woman-led biotech company plans to scale partnerships with biopharmaceutical companies "to accelerate the development of highly specific therapeutics that modulate RNA splicing events that drive pathogenesis of oncology, neurodegenerative, and metabolic disorders." She added, "We are excited to partner with Red Cell to accelerate drug discovery with their deep knowledge of AI and Data Science in healthcare."

Envisagenics' research and development focuses on diseases that are caused in part by RNA splicing deregulation and have patient populations with significant unmet needs. Its principal proprietary technology, the SpliceCore® discovery platform, re-envisions the human genome through the lens of a validated, exon-centric approach combined with Machine Learning algorithms and high-performance computing. SpliceCore's database is composed of approximately seven million RNA splicing events, making it one of the largest databases of potential disease-specific RNA targets in the world. Envisagenics' SpliceCore technology has been commercially validated by multiple biopharma leaders. On September 21, Envisagenics was featured in Biogen's Investor R&D Day to highlight its partnership with Envisagenics to advance RNA splicing research in CNS diseases.

Martin Akerman, Ph.D., co-founder and CTO of Envisagenics, said, "Since the founding of Envisagenics, we have been building the SpliceCore platform to drive innovation and discovery of splicing-based therapies. The software platform now has the capacity to analyze thousands of RNA sequencing samples to identify the right target for therapeutic development, and we expect this investment to radically accelerate our vision to become a world leader in the AI drug discovery industry."

"Envisagenics offers unparalleled insights into RNA splicing that can only come from its team of splicing experts who have more than 15 years of experience and the most innovative discovery platform in the industry. Given the successful application of mRNA in Covid vaccines, we are thrilled at the prospect of leveraging advances in RNA splicing to accelerate drug discovery and the average time it will take to bring new treatments to market," said Grant Verstandig, co-founder of Red Cell Partners.  "Envisagenics embodies Red Cell's mission to back, build and scale technology-led companies with the power to transform the healthcare industry. We are proud to lead this financing round in support of Envisagenics' vision to find effective therapeutics for widespread and rare diseases."

Grant Verstandig and Alan S. Roemer will join Maria Luisa Pineda and Martin Akerman on Envisagenics' Board of Directors.  

About Envisagenics
Envisagenics is an Artificial Intelligence-driven, biotechnology company that focuses on the discovery of novel RNA splicing events that cause cancer and other genetic diseases. Its principal technology is the SpliceCore® discovery platform. The platform re-envisions the human genome with a validated exon-centric approach, combined with machine learning algorithms and high-performance computing. It is up to 250 times more likely to discover novel targets than gene-centric discovery tools. Using innovative technology and RNA analysis expertise, Envisagenics accelerates the development of highly specific therapeutics that modulate RNA splicing events that drive pathogenesis of oncology, neurodegenerative, and metabolic disorders.

Envisagenics a minority- and woman-led company that partners with biopharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to advance their drug discovery capabilities using its AI/ML platform. Envisagenics also has its own internally developed RNA therapeutic programs.  For more information, please visit www.envisagenics.com. Follow us on social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.

About Red Cell
Red Cell is an incubation and investment platform creating rapidly scalable, technology-led companies that seeks to address the Nation's most pressing challenges. Employing a flexible model, Red Cell directly incubates, invests in, and acquires companies with the potential to transform health care and defense through the application of technology. Currently investing shareholder capital, Red Cell supports leading growth companies throughout their lifecycles. https://redcellpartners.com

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