VintaBio Unveils $64M to Back Viral Vector Trailblazers Behind the First Approved Cell and Gene Therapies

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Apr 11, 2023, 08:00 ET

VintaBio is led by new CEO from Cytiva, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Thermo Fisher
Funding opens doors of new bespoke CGT facility to meet growing demand for high-quality viral vectors

PHILADELPHIA, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VintaBio, a life sciences company with unmatched industry expertise helping alleviate the viral vector bottleneck in cell and gene therapy development, today emerged from stealth with newly appointed CEO David Radspinner at its helm, $64 million in funding led by Decheng Capital, and a custom-built manufacturing facility in Philadelphia that is open and accepting orders. VintaBio was founded by Junwei Sun and Dr. Shangzhen Zhou, who developed the first viral vectors used for life-saving therapies, including the cell therapy that cured Emily Whitehead of a pediatric cancer, as well as the first two FDA-approved gene therapies.

"I co-founded VintaBio to make sure viral vectors never prevent someone from receiving a life-changing treatment. At Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where we developed the first gene therapy product for a group of congenital blind patients, which became Luxturna, and then created a gene therapy for babies with spinal muscular atrophy, which became Zolgensma, I saw the important role viral vectors would play in advanced medicines," said Dr. Zhou. "With VintaBio, we now want to provide the ability to scale cutting-edge therapies for thousands more in-need patients."

Dr. Radspinner has spent nearly a decade leading the global marketing and sales efforts at top bioproduction companies including GE Healthcare Life Sciences (Cytiva) and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Radspinner joins VintaBio from ILC Dover, a New Mountain Capital portfolio company, where he served as president for the organization's biotherapeutics portfolio. Previously he was Vice President of the Americas at Cytiva, a provider of life sciences products and services. David worked at Eli Lilly & Co. and Sanofi, developing analytical methodologies, drug products, and processes after receiving his PhD from the University of Arizona in Analytical Chemistry.

"There are no commercially available facilities designed and built specifically for cell and gene therapy CDMO services that can also claim the decades of foundational viral vector experience the VintaBio team has, and that's what attracted me to join the company. Shangzhen and Junwei have played key roles developing the very first cell and gene therapies, giving us unparalleled insights into how we can leverage viral vectors to enable similarly impactful therapies across the life sciences spectrum," said Radspinner.

VintaBio's $64 million in funding, led by Decheng Capital, helped support the development of its now-open 22,500-square-foot Philadelphia facility, designed specifically to streamline cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing.

"VintaBio comes with the highest degrees of specialism and industry experience in a field of retrofitted, generalist operations. This focus and world-class expertise was the reason we backed VintaBio, as they can truly stand out and make a difference in an undefined market lacking specialist leaders," said Min Cui, Founder and Managing Director of Decheng Capital.

About VintaBio
VintaBio's development and manufacturing team has over a century of experience in the cell and gene therapy space and its members have played key roles in the development of the most advanced therapies on the market today. Located in Philadelphia – the epicenter of cell and gene therapy innovation – VintaBio specializes in developing and manufacturing consistent, high-quality viral vectors, a vital and currently underserved area of CGT development. The company was founded by Junwei Sun and Dr. Shangzhen Zhou, who manufactured the first lentiviral vector used to deliver the life-saving treatment for Emily Whitehead at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Junwei is a co-founder of Spark Therapeutics, the University of Pennsylvania spinout that developed the first-ever FDA-approved gene therapy, Luxturna, which is marketed by biopharmaceutical giants Roche in the U.S. and Novartis in Europe. Dr. Zhou, who has over 30 years of experience in the gene therapy field, helped develop the second-ever FDA-approved gene therapy, Zolgensma, which is marketed by Novartis in the U.S. and Europe. Led by CEO David Radspinner, previously of ILC Dover, Cytiva, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, VintaBio has raised $64 million in venture funding, which has been used to develop a brand new 22,500 square foot facility in Philadelphia created specifically to facilitate efficient cell and gene therapy manufacturing.