Kriya Therapeutics announces $80 million Series A financing to advance gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases – PRNewswire

PALO ALTO, Calif. and DURHAM, N.C., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kriya Therapeutics announced today that it has raised $80.5 million in a Series A financing to fund the development of transformative gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases. Kriya was formed in the fourth quarter of 2019 and has an industry-leading gene therapy team that includes former senior leadership from Spark Therapeutics, AveXis, Sangamo Therapeutics, and other gene therapy companies. Kriya's pipeline today includes multiple AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, severe obesity, and other indications. The company is located in the Bay Area, California and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and is building a platform infrastructure in partnership with leading academic institutions and industry pioneers.

Series A investors include QVT, Dexcel Pharma, Foresite Capital, Bluebird Ventures (associated with Sutter Hill Ventures), Narya Capital, Amplo, Paul Manning, and Asia Alpha. This Series A round follows an initial seed financing completed by the company in the fourth quarter of 2019 led by Transhuman Capital, who also participated in the Series A round.

Kriya is focused on developing gene therapies for diseases affecting millions of patients, expanding the field of gene therapy beyond rare monogenic disorders. Kriya is targeting diseases where the underlying biology is well-understood, with the goal of rationally designing one-time gene therapies to durably express therapeutic proteins within the appropriate human tissues.

"There have been numerous successful gene therapies focused on rare monogenic diseases in recent years," said Shankar Ramaswamy, M.D., Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Kriya Therapeutics. "We see tremendous potential to expand the field and apply gene therapy to highly prevalent serious diseases. We are focused on designing gene therapies using algorithmic tools, scalable infrastructure, and proprietary technology to optimize the efficacy and durability of our treatments. We look forward to accelerating the development of our pipeline, platform technologies, and internal GMP manufacturing capability with the funds raised in this Series A financing."

Kriya's initial pipeline includes multiple AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of metabolic diseases including type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and severe obesity:

Kriya's founders and leadership team have deep experience in the design, development and manufacturing of successful gene therapies and biological medicines:

"Kriya is building a leading team and cutting-edge infrastructure to engineer best-in-class gene therapies for severe chronic conditions and accelerate their advancement into human clinical trials," said Roger Jeffs, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Kriya. "The company is committed to incorporating the latest advancements in the field into the design and development of its therapeutic constructs. Through its R&D laboratory capabilities in the Bay Area and in-house process development and manufacturing infrastructure in Research Triangle Park, I believe that Kriya will be uniquely positioned to become a leader in the gene therapy field."

About Kriya Therapeutics

Kriya Therapeutics is a next-generation gene therapy company focused on designing and developing transformative gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases. With core operations in the Bay Area, California and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Kriya is establishing a platform for the development of gene therapies targeting serious chronic diseases affecting millions of patients. The company's initial pipeline includes multiple programs for the treatment of metabolic diseases including type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and severe obesity. For more information, please visit http://www.kriyatx.com.

ContactNachi Gupta, M.D., Ph.D.Chief of Staff[emailprotected]

SOURCE Kriya Therapeutics

http://www.kriyatx.com/

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Kriya Therapeutics announces $80 million Series A financing to advance gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases - PRNewswire