To overcome the obstacles for CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, the startup Epic Bio was launched in July 2022 with an impressive Series A round worth $55 million.
Epic Bio, founded by Stanford bioengineer Stanley Qi, builds pipeline with tiniest Cas protein, epigenetic modulators, a platform that combines them, and proceeds from $55M Series A.
The startup is funded by Horizons Ventures and led by Amber Salzman, who has headed multiple genetic medicine companies, most recently Adverum Biotechnologies.
Controlling the epigenetics of a patient, figuring out what genes are expressed and understanding their level of expression, is at the center of Epic Bio, a new company founded by Stanley Qi.
Epic Bio is controlling target gene expression using single vectors that combine its highly compact Cas protein with guide RNAs and epigenetic modulators.
By not cutting out the bad part of a gene before replacing it with a correct DNA sequence — the essence of the CRISPR editing technology — the South San Francisco company believes its platform can reduce potential errors and side effects to fix a range of genetic diseases.
A former doctoral candidate in CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna’s lab founded a new biotech seeking to wade into “epigenetics-level gene editing,” and has now secured enough capital to do just that.
CRISPR co-inventor Stanley Qi, Ph.D., is out with a new biotech that wants to make a big splash by going small.
Press releases
The latest from Epic
December 23, 2022
"We are grateful for our dedicated team and everyone who has continued to support us at Epic Bio. Thank you for a fantastic 2022, and we'll see you in the New Year. #team #thankyou #grateful #epicbio #genomics "
"Meet Dr. Alexandra Collin de l’Hortet, head of therapeutics at Epic Bio. Dr. Collin brings more than ten years of experience to the team, from discovery to Phase III clinical trials.
#womeninscience "
"We are pleased to share that Epic Bio's CEO, Dr. Amber Salzman, has been chosen by Endpoints News as one of their top 20 Women in Biopharma R&D 2022. Learn more here: https://endpts.com/special-report-2022-meet-20-women-blazing-trails-in-biopharma-rd/ "