US-based degenerative disorder medication developer Design Therapeutics publicly launched on Friday with a $45m series A round led by SR One, the corporate venturing vehicle for pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline.
The round also featured hedge fund manager Cormorant Asset Management, venture capital firm Quan Capital and investment group WestRiver. Simeon George, chief executive of SROne, has now joined the company’s board of directors.
Spun out of University of Wisconsin-Madison, Design Therapeutics is targeting degenerative diseases caused by malignant recurrences of genetic code known as nucleotide repeat disorders. Depending on their location, they can either alter gene expression or carry out toxic instructions.
The startup’s founding team includes Aseem Ansari, a former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member who is now chairman of the Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The series A funding will go to preclinical projects including a drug candidate Design Therapeutics is developing for Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare genetic disease characterised by impaired limb sensations as well as diminished movement and speech.
Design Therapeutics also has discovery programs underway targeting fragile X syndrome, an intellectual disability caused by repeats in the fragile X mental retardation gene, and myotonic dystrophy, a disorder which progressive impairs muscle function.
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.