GREATER PHILADELPHIA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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 Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Headquartered in Greater Philadelphia, Code Bio is a biotechnology company pioneering the development of genetic medicines to treat and potentially cure serious and life-threatening genetic diseases. By leveraging its novel non-viral multivalent synthetic DNA delivery platform, 3DNA®, Code Bio’s approach can overcome multiple challenges inherent with viral-based delivery approaches, including immunogenicity, size and delivery limitations, inability to re-dose and manufacturing complexity. The company is advancing an internal pipeline of therapies focused on serious and life-threatening diseases while also developing multiple collaborative partnerships to take forward additional 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.
