CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — eGenesis, a gene-editing and genome-engineering company developing human-compatible organs, tissues, and cells, today announced the successful completion of a $125 million Series C financing. Funding will be used to bring the company’s lead programs in kidney and islet cell transplant into human proof-of-concept studies. In addition, the funds will be used for continued development of the company’s proprietary gene-editing platform and scaling of GMP production.
The financing from leading healthcare investors included Farallon Capital Management, Polaris Partners, HBM Healthcare Investments, Invus, Samsara BioCapital, LifeSci Venture Partners, Irving Investors, Catalio Capital Management, SymBiosis, Altium Capital, Monashee Investment Management, and Osage University Partners. Existing investors including Leaps by Bayer, Fresenius Medical Care Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Wellington Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Alta Partners participated.
In conjunction with the closing of the financing, Isaac Ciechanover, MD, from Polaris Partners, and Mark Pruzanski, MD, Founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, joined the eGenesis Board of Directors.
“We are proud of the progress we are making in our mission to help solve the global organ shortage,” said Paul Sekhri, President and Chief Executive Officer of eGenesis. “We thank our new and current investors for their vote of confidence. With this financing we are now well positioned to address two of the greatest disease burdens in the U.S. and global healthcare systems.”
“eGenesis has developed a scientific platform that will transform transplant medicine,” Srini Akkaraju, MD, PhD, Founder and Managing General Partner at Samsara BioCapital added. “We are excited about the progress that eGenesis has made in kidney and islet cell transplant which could address the fast-growing unmet need for patients with kidney failure and type 1 diabetes.”
About Transplantation and Xenotransplantation
The demand for lifesaving organs far outnumbers available supply. In the U.S. alone, more than 110,000 people are on the national transplant list. 20 people die every day due to lack of available organs for transplant and every 10 minutes a new name is added to the national transplant waitlist.
The concept of xenotransplantation (the transplantation of organs, tissue, and cells from one species to another) has been explored for decades, with the pig considered the most suitable donor for humans. However, virology and immunology hurdles prevented the field from advancing beyond early preclinical research. With the advent of advanced gene editing technologies, addressing these historical challenges is now within reach.
About eGenesis
eGenesis’s goal is to transform the field of transplantation by offering safe and effective organs, tissues, and cells to patients in need. The company harnesses cutting-edge gene editing technologies to address the key issues that have impeded xenotransplantation to date. eGenesis’s development pipeline includes lead programs for kidney and islet cell transplant as well as earlier-stage programs focused on other solid organs. Learn more at egenesisbio.com.
