A Long Island City biotech startup raised $25 million this week to advance gene therapies for cancer and other chronic illnesses.
Envisagenics, which spun out of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 2014, is developing RNA detection technology to help it create treatments for diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. The company plans to use its recent funding to advance potential oncology therapies for diseases including breast cancer, said Dr. Martin Akerman, co-founder and chief technology officer at Envisagenics.
Existing investors Third Kind Venture Capital, Red Cell Partners and Empire State Development participated in the funding round. Bristol Myers Squibb also participated as a new investor following its oncology research collaboration with Envisagenics in 2022.
Envisagenics’ founding scientific team got its start by developing the drug Spinraza, an RNA therapeutic to treat spinal muscular atrophy that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2016. The drug works by correcting an error from a process called gene splicing, a naturally occurring process where genes split and create multiple proteins.
RNA splicing is part of what makes humans such complex organisms, Akerman said. The human genome is made of 25,000 genes, which sounds like a lot, but is actually less than organisms like corn, he said. Splicing allows for humans to have a number of gene combinations, but can also be linked to diseases.
Now, Envisagenics is advancing its technology SpliceCore to detect splicing events that could be potential targets for therapeutics. So far, the technology has proven effective in detecting 14 million splicing events – helping the startup whittle down to 20 to 30 gene candidates that become the basis for drug development efforts, Akerman said.
Envisagenics will use the capital to further develop its SpliceCore technology, Akerman said.
Amanda D'Ambrosio , 2024-06-10 11:48:07
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