Aera Therapeutics, a Boston, MA-based biotechnology company providing a proprietary protein nanoparticle (PNP) delivery platform, raised $193M in combined Series A and B financings.
The rounds was led by ARCH Venture Partners, GV and Lux Capital.
The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts.
Led by Akin Akinc, CEO, Aera Therapeutics is a biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary protein nanoparticle (PNP) delivery platform to unlock the potential of genetic medicines. Aera’s proprietary protein nanoparticle (PNP) genetic medicine delivery platform leverages the discovery of endogenous, human proteins derived from retroelements that can self-assemble to form capsid-like structures and which can package and transfer nucleic acid cargo. The platform, based on endogenous human proteins, is being developed to expand the reach of genetic medicines to different tissues and applications, in order to benefit more patients across more disease areas. Its licensed technology also includes a therapeutic enzyme platform based on the discovery of novel, compact and programmable gene editing enzymes.
Aera’s delivery platform is based on research conducted in the laboratory of scientific founder Feng Zhang, Ph.D., core member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, McGovern Institute investigator, the James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and is designed to address the limitations of today’s delivery technologies in order to more broadly enable new genetic medicines.
The company’s founding leadership and board of directors includes:
● Akin Akinc, Ph.D., chief executive officer and board member
● John Maraganore, Ph.D., board chair and former founding chief executive officer, Alnylam
● Robert Nelsen, board member and managing director, ARCH Venture Partners
● Issi Rozen, board observer and venture partner, GV
● Vicki Sato, Ph.D., board member and former president, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
● David Schenkein, M.D., board member and general partner, GV
● Josh Wolfe, board member and managing partner, Lux Capital
FinSMEs
17/02/2023