US-based gene therapy developer Lexeo Therapeutics has emerged from stealth with an oversubscribed $85m series A round featuring Lundbeckfonden Ventures, the strategic investment arm of pharmaceutical firm Lundbeck.
The round was co-led by healthcare-focused venture capital firm Longitude Capital and investment firm Omega Funds and included life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ VC unit, Alexandria Venture Investments.
Non-profit research organisation Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, PBM Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Invus and Woodline Partners also contributed to the round.
Founded in 2018, Lexeo aims to deliver treatments for genetic conditions that result from defective instructions from a single gene or gene pair: a variant known as a monogenic disease.
The company plans to transport corrected gene instructions into diseased cells by leveraging adeno-associated viruses able to bypass the cell’s barrier without causing noticeable symptoms.
Lexeo has three lead programmes underway including LX2006, an intravenous treatment for poor blood circulation caused by a rare genetic disease known as Friedreich’s ataxia.
LX2006 is due to enter a phase 1 clinical trial later this year and Lexeo also expects to progress LX1004, a central nervous system-focused drug for an inherited disorder called CLN2 Batten disease, following a recent phase 1/2 study.
The company’s other lead asset is LX001, an APOE4-associated Alzheimer’s disease therapy currently undergoing phase 1 trials.
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Ventures.