Latus Bio, a Philadelphia, PA-based biotechnology company developing novel gene therapy candidates for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), raised $54M in Series A funding.
The round was led by 8VC and DCVC Bio.
To date, Samsung Life Science Fund (created by Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, Samsung Bioepis and Samsung Venture Investment Corporation), The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation, Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners, Modi Ventures, and Gaingels have joined as syndicate partners.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development of its candidates for CLN2 disease, with first-in-human dosing planned in late 2025.
Led by CEO P. Peter Ghoroghchian, Beverly Davidson and CSO Dr. Jang-Ho Cha, Latus is a patient-centric and product-oriented gene therapy company. Its proprietary AAV capsids have been identified by screening tens of millions of novel variants directly in non-human primates (NHPs), using optimized routes for clinical administration. In preclinical NHP studies, its product candidates exhibited high gene expression in precise locations in the central nervous system (CNS) with cellular specificity and minimal off-tissue activity. As a result, Latus plans to administer low doses of its product candidates, with the goal of improving clinical safety and enabling successful manufacturing. The company has three development candidates and plans to enter the clinic with its first gene therapy product candidate in 2025.
Latus will be opening a second site in the Seaport of Boston, MA on June 1st, 2024.
FinSMEs
03/05/2024