US-based stem cell medicine developer Sana Biotechnology closed its inaugural funding round on Tuesday, having raised more than $700m from investors including GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet technology group Alphabet.
The round also featured F-Prime Capital, a fund owned by investment and financial services group Fidelity, as well as Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Alaska Permanent Fund and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board.
Baillie Gifford, Arch Venture Partners, Flagship Pioneering, Bezos Expeditions, Omega Funds, Altitude Life Science Ventures and several undisclosed institutional investors filled out the round, which was raised over multiple tranches.
F-Prime Capital, Arch Venture Partners and Flagship Pioneering having already been revealed as investors at the time of Sana’s launch in January 2019.
Sana is working on technology intended to repair and control genes in cells and replace missing or damaged cells in order to tackle the underlying causes of serious diseases, ranging from cancer and central nervous system conditions to heart disease and various genetic disorders.
The funding has been allocated to advancing the startup’s core platforms, including those focusing on gene delivery, immunology, stem cell biology and gene modification and control.
The company also plans to use the cash to drive development of additional technologies and move several assets toward investigational new drug applications and into initial clinical trials, as well as expanding its manufacturing capabilities.
Sana’s scientific co-founders hail from a range of institutions, including Harvard University’s Medical School, University of Washington’s School of Medicine and University of California, San Francisco.
The academic researchers collaborated with a scientific team at Flagship Labs, a unit owned by incubator Flagship Pioneering.
The original version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.
