Broken String Biosciences, a genomics company building a technology platform to drive the development of cell and gene therapies that are safer by design, has closed a 拢12 million Series A investment round.
The round was co-led by Illumina Ventures and M茅rieux Equity Partners, with contributions from HERAN Partners, and existing investors Tencent and Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures (DvH Ventures).聽
As part of the round, Yoann Bonnamour, M茅rieux Equity Partners, and Arnaud Autret, Illumina Ventures, join the company鈥檚 board of directors.
The funding will be used to develop Broken String鈥檚 DNA break mapping platform, INDUCE-seq鈩�, into a scalable 鈥楶latform as a Service鈥� (PaaS) offering and to expand its capabilities beyond gene editing, broadening its go-to-market strategy and driving commercial traction.聽
The investment also supports the Company鈥檚 ongoing growth, including recruitment for its UK team based at the Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, and the establishment of a US office.
The progress of cell and gene therapies based on genome editing technologies, such as CRISPR-Cas9, requires stringent pre-clinical assessments of off-target editing events. INDUCE-seq enables researchers to assess the specificity of genome editing tools and evaluate the associated off-target genetic outcomes.聽
鈥淥ur vision is a future where cell and gene therapies are safer, more efficient, and affordable for patients,鈥� said CEO Felix Dobbs.聽
鈥淥perating at the intersection of biology, bioinformatics and data science, our INDUCE-seq platform offers an unbiased, end-to-end solution that expedites the measurement and assessment of off-target gene editing during therapeutic development.聽
鈥淭his provides essential information required to progress therapeutic programs that leverage gene editing and mitigate potential risks that can result in later-stage clinical failures.聽
鈥淏y developing a deployable PaaS offering, we have the opportunity to provide the cell and gene therapy community with this much-needed solution and achieve rapid market growth.鈥�
Arnaud Autret, PhD, Principal at Illumina Ventures, said: 鈥淭he clinical progression of cell and gene therapies is held back by off-target safety concerns 鈥� we recognise the power of Broken String Biosciences鈥� technology to drive advances in safer genome editing, genome biology and genetic toxicology, and optimise drug development programs.聽
鈥淭he platform has the potential to become the gold-standard solution for measuring off-target gene editing.鈥�