Ensoma Raises $85M in Series B Funding; Acquires Twelve Bio

Ensoma

Ensoma, a Boston, MA-based genomic medicines company developing one-time in vivo treatments that precisely engineer any cell of the hematopoietic system, raised $85M in Series B funding, and acquired Twelve Bio, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based CRISPR engineering company.

The round was co-led by Arix Bioscience and 5AM Ventures with participation from F-Prime Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Viking Global Investors, Takeda Ventures, Inc., SymBiosis, Alexandria Venture Investments, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Qatar Investment Authority, Catalio Capital Management, Solasta Ventures and Mirae Asset. In connection with the financing, Mark Chin, managing director at Arix Bioscience and director of Twelve Bio, will join Ensoma’s board of directors.

The financial terms of the acquisition – whose closing is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including clearance by the Danish Business Authority pursuant to Danish foreign direct investment laws, were not disclosed.

Co-founded in 2019 by Stefano Stella and Guillermo Montoya, Twelve Bio has advanced foundational insights from X-ray crystallography and cryogenic electron microscopy to further engineer and evolve CRISPR-Cas12a into wholly novel sequences with properties useful for a range of DNA editing strategies. This engineering builds on the natural advantages of Cas12a, including small size, high specificity, multiplexing and ability to target sections of DNA not amenable to other Cas nucleases. With the addition of this science to the existing platform, the company will be well positioned to advance the field of genome engineering, develop the next generation of genome editors with gene-writing capabilities and create a new class of smart immune cell medicines targeting rare and prevalent disease.

Led by CEO Emile Nuwaysir, Ensoma is a genomic medicines company whose platform combines innovative delivery technology with the full DNA editing toolkit to tackle diseases that affect millions around the world, such as cancer and autoimmune disease, as well as inherited conditions. Ensoma is supported by a strategic collaboration with Takeda.

FinSMEs

10/01/2023