Code Biotherapeutics, Inc., (Code Bio), a biotechnology company pioneering targeted non-viral delivery of genetic medicines, today announced its upsized and oversubscribed Series A financing of $75 million to advance programs to treat and cure rare and prevalent genetic diseases. Northpond Ventures led the financing round with participation from Amgen Ventures, Hatteras Venture Partners and UCB Ventures alongside existing investors New Enterprise Associates, 4BIO Capital, CureDuchenne Ventures, the JDRF T1D Fund, UPMC Enterprises, and Takeda Ventures. The funding enables the company to advance its two lead programs in DMD and T1D toward IND-enabling studies, expand its pipeline and platform applications, and expand its manufacturing and operations.
“Patients with rare and prevalent genetic diseases, and their caregivers, are in need of breakthrough treatments that will truly make a difference in their lives,” said Brian P. McVeigh, Code Bio Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. “We’re energized by the confidence these high-caliber, top-tier investors are demonstrating through their support as we drive our discovery programs forward and strive to rapidly deliver on the promise our proprietary synthetic DNA-based, non-viral genetic medicines delivery platform holds.”
Code Bio’s 3DNA® platform has demonstrated the potential to deliver various genetic medicines to multiple cell types in a tissue-targeted, re-dosable manner, which enables its use across a broad range of genetic disorders. The 3DNA® platform is designed to fully unlock the potential of genetic medicines and overcome key limitations of other delivery approaches.
As part of the financing, Diana Bernstein, Ph.D., Vice President at Northpond Ventures, will join Code Bio’s board of directors.
“Code Bio’s targeted 3DNA® delivery platform is positioned to extend the utility of genetic medicines beyond what’s currently possible with viral gene delivery in support of the development of transformative therapies,” said Dr. Bernstein. “The potential of this technology aligns with our purpose as a science-driven venture capital firm with a mission of supporting innovations that hold promise for patients suffering from serious and life-threatening diseases.”
“We are impressed with the progress that the Code Bio team has made since the initial seed financing round only a year ago,” said Ed Mathers, General Partner, New Enterprise Associates. “NEA is pleased to remain a strong supporter as the company advances its discovery programs to treat and cure rare and prevalent genetic diseases and leverages the value of its innovative 3DNA® platform.”
About Code Bio therapeutics, Inc.
Headquartered in Greater Philadelphia, Code Bio is a next-generation gene therapy company pioneering the development of targeted non-viral gene therapies to treat serious and life-threatening genetic diseases. Code Bio leverages its novel multivalent synthetic DNA delivery platform, 3DNA, which has been engineered to overcome many of the challenges inherent with viral-based gene therapies such as immunogenicity, size and delivery limitations, re-dosability, and manufacturing complexity. The Company is advancing an internal pipeline focused on select rare disease programs as well as establishing partnerships to take forward programs in both rare and prevalent diseases. For more information, visit www.codebiotx.com.
About Northpond Ventures
Northpond Ventures is a multi-billion-dollar science-driven venture capital firm based in Cambridge, MA; San Francisco, CA; and Bethesda, MD. Northpond has been named one of the three most active lead biotech investors in 2021 by Crunchbase, and the most active lead investor in life science solutions and molecular diagnostics by Silicon Valley Bank. It is particularly engaged in the research ecosystem, having led over 50 financings over the past several years, a high percentage of which have an academic origin. Learn more at npv.vc.
Abata Therapeutics, a company focused on translating the biology of regulatory T cells (Tregs) into transformational medicines for patients living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) and other severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, today announced the formation of the Abata Advisory Board, chaired by Diane Mathis, Ph.D., co-founder of Abata. The Abata Advisory Board brings together industry and scientific experts John Maraganore, Ph.D.; Charles Cooney, Ph.D.; and Gerald Nepom, M.D., Ph.D.; who will work with the Abata leadership team to create new possibilities for patients through Treg cell therapy.
“Partnering with this distinguished and brilliant group of leaders positions Abata for success in creating transformational Treg cell therapies for multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, and other severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” said Samantha Singer, M.S., M.B.A., president and chief executive officer, Abata Therapeutics. “Their deep collective experience in R&D, manufacturing, and corporate development affords us invaluable expertise and guidance. On behalf of our entire team, I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with this group and look forward to their insights.”
“Abata was founded to combine the best science in Treg biology and cell therapy with a deep understanding of the devastating diseases it aims to target and an incredibly talented team. The world class leaders we’ve assembled for the Abata Advisory Board are a match for those same founding principles,” said Dr. Mathis. “The company’s approach to engineering Tregs for enriched site-specific activation offers patients suffering from severe autoimmune disease, who currently have no treatment options, the prospect of a safe, robust, and durable therapy. I’m honored to chair this advisory board and continue to advise on Abata’s incredible work.”
The Abata Advisory Board members include:
- Diane Mathis, Ph.D. (chair): Professor of Immunology and holder of the Morton Grove-Rasmussen chair of immunohematology at Harvard Medical School, principal faculty member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and associate faculty member of the Broad Institute. Dr. Mathis is a world-renowned leader in Treg biology with a lab focused on the fields of T cell differentiation, autoimmunity, and inflammation. She has led landmark studies on T cell differentiation focused on maturation and selection of the T cell repertoire in the thymus and on cellular and molecular influences on the “flavor” of T cell responses in the periphery. Dr. Mathis currently serves on the advisory boards of Rockefeller University, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Genentech, Pfizer, Amgen and several research institutes worldwide. She was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2003, the German Academy in 2007, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012.
- John Maraganore, Ph.D.: Former founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. At Alnylam, Dr. Maraganore led the company’s pioneering efforts to advance RNA interference therapeutics, bringing four approved products to market. He also formed over 25 significant partnerships with leading pharma and biotech companies, raised over $7 billion to fund the company’s research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization activities, and built $25 billion in market capitalization. Currently, Dr. Maraganore serves as the chair of Hemab Therapeutics and as a director of Agios Pharmaceuticals, Beam Therapeutics, and Kymera Therapeutics. He is an active mentor to emerging leaders across the biotechnology industry and serves in advisory roles at Pictet, Saliogen, SQZ Biotech, and Brii Biosciences in addition to other companies. Dr. Maraganore is on the board of the Termeer Foundation, which advances the legacy of the late Henri Termeer, and on the advisory boards of the n-Lorem Foundation, committed to nano-rare diseases; and Ariadne Labs, committed to health systems innovation.
- Charles L. Cooney, Ph.D.: Robert T. Haslam Professor Emeritus in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Chemical Engineering and Deshpande Center Faculty Director, Emeritus. Dr. Cooney is one of the world’s most highly regarded experts in biochemical engineering and his research and teaching interests span a range of topics within biochemical engineering, pharmaceutical manufacturing, bioprocess development and technological innovation. He serves as a consultant to and/or director of several biotech and pharmaceutical companies including AIM Biotech, Codiak Biosciences, GreenLight Biosciences, Boyd Technologies, Hovione, Innovent Biologics, and LayerBio. Dr. Cooney previously served on the board at Genzyme and as the chair of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Committee for Pharmaceutical Science. Among his awards and distinctions, Dr. Cooney was nominated Founding Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering; received the Gold Medal from the Institute of Biotechnological Studies; and received the James Van Lanen Award for Distinguished Service to the Division of Microbial and Biochemical Technology of the American Chemical Society.
- Gerald Nepom, M.D., Ph.D.: Director, Immune Tolerance Network (ITN), sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, and Founder and former Director of the Benaroya Research Institute, a leading translational immunology center in Seattle, Washington. His primary research interests focus on characterization of the human CD4 T cell response in autoimmunity as well as the translation of immunological intervention strategies into innovative clinical trials. His laboratory is credited with several advances in human autoimmunity, including initial descriptions of HLA class II disease associations, structure, and function, and the development of human class II tetramers for direct T cell detection and analysis. Dr. Nepom serves as an advisor for many academic and nonprofit organizations involved in biomedical research and is past president of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS). He is also an affiliate professor of immunology at the University of Washington and has published over 350 scientific papers. Dr. Nepom has received recognition through several awards, including the University of Washington School of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award, the David Rumbough Award for Scientific Excellence from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the George Eisenbarth Award from the Immunology of Diabetes Society.
About Abata Therapeutics
Abata Therapeutics is focused on translating the biology of regulatory T cells (Tregs) into transformational medicines for patients living with severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Founded by pioneers in Treg biology, T cell receptor and antigen discovery, disease pathogenesis, and molecular and imaging biomarkers, Abata has developed a differentiated product engine to create engineered Treg cell therapies that are tissue-specific, robust, and durable. In addition to its lead program in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), Abata has programs in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and inclusion body myositis (IBM) – two additional tissue-specific autoimmune diseases with substantial unmet need and a strong rationale for Abata’s Treg approach. The company was launched in 2021 by Third Rock Ventures, with participation from a diverse syndicate of investors, including ElevateBio, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Invus, Samsara BioCapital, and the JDRF T1D Fund. Abata is based in Cambridge, Mass. Please visit abatatx.com or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn for more information.