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.
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SOURCE GenEdit