Scenic Biotech, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based provider of genetic modifiers to enable the development of disease modifying therapeutics for rare genetic disorders and other devastating illnesses, raised $31M in Series A funding.
The round was led by Eir Ventures, BioMedPartners and Vesalius Biocapital with participation from Inkef Capital, BioGeneration Ventures and Oxford Science Enterprises, together with Scenic’s founders and management. Following the Series A investment, Stephan Christgau PhD, General Partner Eir Ventures, Michael Wacker PhD, General Partner BioMedPartners and Stephane Verdood MSc, MBA, Managing Partner Vesalius Biocapital will join Scenic’s board of directors.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the transition into a development stage company, advancing its in-house pipeline and supporting the creation of new programs based on its Cell-Seq genetic modifier target discovery platform including new industry collaborations.
Led by CEO Oscar Izeboud, Scenic Biotech is focused on identifying genetic modifiers, a completely new class of disease targets, for drug intervention. Also known as disease suppressors, genetic modifiers are genes that act to suppress or completely block the effect of a disease-causing mutated gene.As a pioneer in the field, Scenic Biotech is leveraging its Cell-Seq discovery platform to identify genetic modifiers across multiple therapeutic areas. It is building a pipeline of disease modifying therapeutics to treat devastating diseases including inherited rare diseases and cancer. Its lead programs include an immuno-oncology program targeting QPCTL, and three rare diseases programs based on druggable genetic modifiers. The rare disease programs consist of Niemann Pick disease, type C (NP-C1), Barth syndrome, and a severe heritable metabolic syndrome.
Alongside its in-house pipeline, Scenic has a multi-year, multi-indication strategic collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapeutics that target genetic modifiers.
The company anticipates more than doubling its team in the coming 18 months including building its clinical capabilities. To accommodate the expansion Scenic will be expanding its facilities within the life sciences cluster at the Science Park in the East of Amsterdam.
FinSMEs
11/03/2022