ViaNautis (formerly known as SomaServe), a Cambridge, UK-based nanomedicine company, raised $25M in Series A funding.
The round was led by 4BIO Capital, BGF, and UCB Ventures with participation from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Eli Lilly and Company and existing investors including Origin Capital, Meltwind and O2H.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development of products using the polyNaut® platform, expand the scientific and management teams and establish laboratory facilities.
Founded in 2018 as a spin-off from UCL under the leadership of CEO and serial entrepreneur, Dr Francesca Crawford, ViaNautis has developed PolyNaut®, a versatile nano-engineered polymer technology designed for targeted intracellular delivery. This technology enables polymer nanoparticles to deliver a wide range of payloads from small molecules to genetic materials creating ‘a bionic nanoparticle.’ The polymer structure of polyNaut® can be formulated to encapsulate a wide array of genetic cargoes, with sizes exceeding current standards for viral and non-viral delivery. Notably, it enhances the therapeutic efficacy of encapsulated molecules through direct delivery to the cell cytoplasm, facilitated by GOTO® technology for intracellular shuttling.
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