US-based in-vivo gene editing technology developer Trucode Gene Repair emerged from stealth yesterday with $34m in funding from investors including GV, a corporate venturing vehicle for internet technology conglomerate Alphabet.
The round also featured venture firm Kleiner Perkins. GV general partner Krishna Yeshwant has joined Trucode’s board of directors with Kleiner Perkins’ Beth Seidenberg; Andrew Cheng, CEO of metabolic disease drug developer Akero Therapeutics; and Joseph Walton, a partner at VC firm Walton, Mitchell & Co.
Trucode is working on gene editing technology that will be applied in vivo – within living models – to rectify mutations responsible for genetic disorders including sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis.
The company’s technology extends work by teams under three professors at Yale University: Peter Glazer and Marie Egan from the School of Medicine, and Mark Saltzman from the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Marshall Fordyce, Trucode’s founder and chief executive, said: “The medical promise of gene editing to cure patients with genetic disease has arrived but has not realised its full transformative potential.
“Our technology could address key challenges faced by the industry, including editing fidelity, immune reactions, delivery, scaled manufacturing and intellectual property.”
The original version of this story appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.