Denmark-based biotechnology company Snipr Biome secured $50m yesterday in a series A round co-led by life sciences foundation Lundbeck Foundation’s early-stage investment unit, Lundbeckfonden Emerge.
Healthcare investment firm Life Science Partners (LSP) co-led the round, which also featured North-East Family Office and venture capital firm Wellington Partners.
Snipr is developing treatments intended to precisely target and destroy harmful bacteria in the body’s gut microbiome by using Crispr gene editing technology to cut into DNA sequences.
The technology is designed to kills bacteria based on specific DNA fingerprints without harming beneficial microbes. In addition to accelerating its Crispr-based microbiome drugs into clinical trials, funds from the round will be used to develop Snipr’s technology platform.
LSP partner Joachim Rothe and Regina Hodits, managing partner at Wellington Partners, have joined the company’s board of directors in connection with the round.
Lundbeckfonden Emerge had previously supplied $3m for Snipr in August 2017 as its founding investor, and Christian Elling, managing partner of Lundbeckfonden Emerge, is also the startup’s chairman.
Elling said: “Snipr Biome is based on cutting edge gene editing Crispr science, which offers an opportunity to develop new effective and selective treatments towards a host of human diseases.
“Based on our original exploratory investment, the company has successfully matured its drug development technology and the current series A investment reflects this fact.
“We warmly welcome the new investors in the company and look forward to our continued collaboration with the team helping them grow the company to address important unmet needs of patients.”