BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- GenEdit, Inc., a developer of novel polymer nanoparticle technology platform for non-viral-based delivery of gene therapeutics, today announced the completion of a $8.5 million Series Seed financing round led by new investors Data Collective Bio (DCVC Bio) and SK Holdings. Also participating in the round are pre-seed investors, including Sequoia Capital and Bow Capital. DCVC Bio Managing Partner, Kiersten Stead, Ph.D., and Natera co-founder and CEO, Matthew Rabinowitz, Ph.D., joined GenEdit's Board of Directors.
This round will help the company continue to build and advance its proprietary polymer nanoparticle system. GenEdit's technology will address one of the biggest challenges in gene therapy and gene editing which is safe and efficient delivery to the target tissues.
GenEdit has roots at the University of California, Berkeley and officially launched in 2016. The founders include UC Berkeley scientists, Kunwoo Lee, Hyo Min Park, and Niren Murthy, who is Professor of Bioengineering. Since then, the team has developed its proprietary polymer nanoparticle library, establishing initial proof of concept by delivering CRISPR-Cas9 and gene editors to target tissues, leading to publications in key journals including Nature Biomedical Engineering (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, 2017) and Nature Biomedical Engineering (Autism, 2018), Nature Comm (CRISPR/Cas12a, 2018).
"We're excited to lead this financing and help this team take the company to the next level," said Dr. Stead, DCVC Bio Managing partner. "We recognized the tremendous opportunity that GenEdit's technology will have in the gene editing field and look forward to supporting the company translate the promise of its platform."
"We believe GenEdit could be a leading gene editing company with the unique platform technology which can overcome side effects of traditional delivery methods," said Jinsoo Lee, Project Leader of Global Business Development team in SK Holdings. "SK looks forward to supporting this team to develop their potential for curing many genetic diseases."
"With its cutting-edge delivery technologies, GenEdit is uniquely positioned to lead the next generation of gene therapy companies," said Dr. Rabinowitz, CEO of Natera. "I'm delighted to be joining the GenEdit board and to be working with a great company and a technology platform with which we can target diseases with serious unmet needs."
"We founded GenEdit to solve delivery problem, which is a big challenge in gene therapy. This financing validates our systematic approach with novel polymer library and the potential to bring life-changing gene therapies to patients suffering from serious diseases," said Kunwoo Lee, co-founder and CEO of GenEdit. "The funding will enable us to demonstrate proof of concept and position us to develop a pipeline of non-viral novel gene-editing-based therapeutics."
About Data Collective Bio (DCVC Bio)
Data Collective (DCVC) backs entrepreneurs applying deep tech to transform giant industries. DCVC and its principals have supported brilliant people changing global-scale businesses for over twenty years, helping create tens of billions of dollars of value while also making the world a markedly better place.
About SK Holdings
SK Holdings continues to enhance its portfolio value by executing long-term investments with a number of competitive subsidiaries in various business areas, including pharmaceuticals and life science, energy and chemicals, information and telecommunication, and semiconductors. In addition, SK Holdings is focused on reinforcing its growth foundations through profitable and practical management based on financial stability, while raising its enterprise value by investing in new future growth businesses. For more information, please visit http://hc.sk.co.kr/en/.
About GenEdit
GenEdit was founded to transform the delivery of gene therapies and enable the next generation of non-viral, gene editing-based therapeutics. GenEdit's technology platform solves current delivery challenges by systematically screening its proprietary nanoparticle library and providing safer and efficient delivery to target tissues. GenEdit's proprietary nanoparticles has broad applicability including the development of CRISPR-based therapeutics and gene therapy products for a wide range of genetic diseases.
For more information, please visit www.genedit.com.
SOURCE GenEdit
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