US-based gene therapy developer Affinia Therapeutics completed a $110m series B round on Monday featuring chemicals producer Lonza, internet and technology group Alphabet and healthcare provider Mass General Brigham.
EcoR1 Capital and Farallon Capital Management co-led the round, which included investment and financial services group Fidelity’s F-Prime Capital subsidiary, while Alphabet and Mass General Brigham took part through GV and Mass General Brigham Ventures respectively.
Avidity Partners, Casdin Capital, Octagon Capital, Perceptive Advisors, RA Capital Management, TCG Crossover, Woodline Partners, Atlas Venture and New Enterprise Associates (NEA) filled out the participants.
Affinia is developing gene therapies and adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to treat disorders affecting the muscles and central nervous system. It is allocating the series B proceeds to platform development and advancing its drug pipeline toward clinical trials.
The company’s technology is based on research by Luk Vandenberghe, an associate professor at Harvard University’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear teaching hospital and Harvard Medical School.
F-Prime and NEA co-led a $60m series A round for the startup in March 2020 that included Lonza healthcare provider Partners Healthcare’s Partners Innovation Fund, Atlas Venture and Alexandria Venture Investments, which invested on behalf of real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Rick Modi, Affinia’s CEO, said: “Since founding the company, we have had the interest of leading biotech investors as well as strategic partners who see the potential of our gene therapy discovery platform to engineer novel vectors that overcome the limitations of conventional serotypes.
“We are excited to partner with this syndicate of top investors to expand our platform to regulatory elements and work toward the next generation of one-time, potentially curative medicines for broader use.”
