SPOTLIGHT THERAPEUTICS RAISES $36.5 MILLION SERIES B TO ADVANCE A PIPELINE OF CELL-TARGETED IN VIVO CRISPR GENE EDITING BIOLOGICS
Funding to support progression of lead immuno-oncology program to the clinic
Cell-targeted in vivo CRISPR delivery platform has broad applications across therapeutic areas
March 22, 2022 07:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Business Wire
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Spotlight Therapeutics, Inc. (“Spotlight”), a biotechnology company applying new insights to develop cell-targeted in vivo CRISPR gene editing biologics, today announced a $36.5M Series B financing to fuel a drive toward the clinic.
The financing round was co-led by new investors GordonMD Global Investments and EPIQ Capital Group, with participation from Magnetic Ventures, as well as existing investors GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Emerson Collective and other investors. Craig Gordon, M.D., Founder, CEO and CIO of GordonMD Global Investments, joins the Company’s Board of Directors.
Spotlight's proprietary technology platform, TAGE (Targeted Active Gene Editors), is a new class of biologics; highly engineered, modular programmable CRISPR effectors designed to target and edit selected cell types in vivo. This approach circumvents the complexity of packaged viral, viral-like, and nanoparticle delivery systems, opens the door to expanded applications, and holds the promise of increasing patient access.
“We are excited to help Spotlight advance its pioneering work, which shows promise for cell-targeted delivery of CRISPR effectors in vivo. Spotlight’s TAGE platform could enable significant expansion of CRISPR medicines to a wide range of diseases,” said Dr. Gordon.
“This Series B funding is a crucial milestone as we advance our lead first-in-class immuno-oncology (IO) program and progress our pipeline of programs in IO, ophthalmic diseases and hemoglobinopathies,” said Mary Haak-Frendscho, Ph.D., President and CEO of Spotlight Therapeutics. “It will enable us to execute our development plan, leveraging Spotlight’s unique cell-targeted in vivo delivery approach, as we aspire to unlock the full potential of gene editing and enable effective one-and-done medicines for patients.”
Also today, Spotlight announced the promotion of Mary Janatpour, Ph.D. to CSO and the appointments of Peter Cameron, Ph.D., Executive Director of Technology and Cynthia Li, PhD, VP, Corporate and Business Development. “Their combined breadth and depth of experience in building first-in-class pipelines, developing novel CRISPR technologies, and establishing strategic partnerships will be invaluable to our organization,” said Haak-Frendscho.
Spotlight has been selected to present at the following upcoming conferences.
2022 Keystone Symposia: Precision Genome Engineering, Keystone, Apr 27 - May 1, 2022
The inaugural In Vivo Engineering of Therapeutic Cells Summit, Boston, July 12 - 14, 2022
2022 Boulder Peptide Symposium, Boulder, November 7 - 10, 2022
For abstracts and detailed meeting information, please visit https://www.spotlighttx.com/presentations-and-posters.