The San Francisco-based company has taken a step forward with proof of concept for its ‘switch on or switch off’ approach to gene regulation via non-cutting CRISPR molecules.
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.
"🌟 Congratulations, @Alex! 🎉 For being named by Endpoints News in their "20 Biotech Leaders Under 40." Your exceptional work and dedication are inspiring. Keep shining and making waves in the biotech world! 👏🔬 #BiotechLeadership #Congrats #EpicBio
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