SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — GenEdit, Inc., a biotechnology company with a mission to develop curative therapies through targeted in vivo delivery of genetic medicines, has closed a $26 million Series A financing. New investors Eli Lilly, KTB Network, Ltd., Company K Partners, Korea Investment Partners, DAYLI Partners, KB Investment, IMM Investment, and TIMEFOLIO Asset Management, join existing investors DCVC Bio, SK Holdings, Bow Capital, and Sequoia Capital, participating in the financing.
The funding will support the development of GenEdit’s NanoGalaxy platform of non-viral, non-lipid polymer nanoparticles, and the selection for clinical development of therapeutic candidates targeting diseases of the nervous system.
In addition, GenEdit disclosed new in vivo data demonstrating tissue-selective delivery after intravenous or intrathecal administration of its polymer nanoparticles. This selectivity was achieved through optimization of polymer structure utilizing the NanoGalaxy platform. Additional data show GenEdit’s polymer nanoparticles can be dosed multiple times with functional activity of the payload maintained in each subsequent dose.
“With this financing, we are exploring the universe of opportunities within GenEdit’s NanoGalaxy platform to treat serious diseases without effective treatment options,” said Dr. Kunwoo Lee, GenEdit’s CEO and co-founder.
GenEdit’s NanoGalaxy platform includes thousands of chemically distinct polymers, each with unique properties making them amenable to targeting different tissues and cell types and carrying diverse genetic medicine payloads. GenEdit’s polymer nanoparticles can deliver DNA, RNA, or CRISPR ribonucleoprotein, depending on the requirement to add, delete, edit, or silence a gene for therapeutic effect.
“With its NanoGalaxy platform, the GenEdit team has achieved impressive delivery to cells of the central nervous system and has a tunable platform to target genetic medicines to different tissue types,” said Andrew Adams, Vice President of New Therapeutic Modalities at Eli Lilly and GenEdit Board observer. “Solving the delivery problem is what will truly launch genetic medicines to being an essential therapeutic modality for a wide range of diseases.”