NEW YORK – Exsilio Therapeutics on Tuesday emerged from stealth mode, armed with $82 million in Series A financing and plans to develop redosable genomic medicines.
The startup's Series A financing round was co-led by Novartis Venture Fund and Delos Capital and also included OrbiMed, Insight Partners, J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, CRISPR Therapeutics, Innovation Endeavors, Invus, Arc Ventures, and Deep Insight. OrbiMed, a firm that invests in the healthcare and biotech sectors, also provided seed funding to Exsilio.
Exsilio plans to develop therapeutics based on naturally occurring, programmable genetic elements with the goal of curing a broad range of diseases, including genetic disorders, cancers, and autoimmune conditions. The Boston-based firm's approach involves using RNA intermediate templates to precisely insert entire genes into cells and deliver these therapies with lipid nanoparticles. Exsilio aims to design therapeutic candidates that can be redosed.
"mRNA-based medicines allow for a software-like approach to creating new medicines," Exsilio Chairman and interim CEO Tal Zaks said in a statement. "The ability to insert whole genes with a repeatable and titratable approach should allow us to treat genetic diseases irrespective of the patient's individual mutation." Zaks, who previously served as chief medical officer at Moderna, is also a partner at OrbiMed.