Aperatura Gene Therapy Launches (And Other NYC-Area Tech News)
Apertura Gene Therapy has launched after raising $67M in Series A financing from Deerfield Management Co., which has also committed additional operational support to strengthen the company’s ability to advance gene therapy discoveries.
The biotech startup is developing genetic medicines using platform technologies that address key limitations of genetic medicine delivery and expression.
The company’s platform uses machine learning and high-throughput assays to engineer novel capsids, gene regulatory elements, such as promoters and enhancers, and payloads to simultaneously enhance multiple functions of gene therapies for greater translational potential.
“While next-generation approaches to gene therapy have largely focused on the innovation of delivery vectors, Apertura has the potential to innovate simultaneously across delivery, expression, and payloads,” Dave Greenwald, Apertura’s acting chief executive and vice president of business development at Deerfield, said in a statement.
“While next-generation approaches to gene therapy have largely focused on the innovation of delivery vectors, Apertura has the potential to innovate simultaneously across delivery, expression, and payloads,” Dave Greenwald, Apertura’s acting chief executive and vice president of business development at Deerfield, said in a statement.
Founded on technologies from the Broad Institute and Harvard University, Apertura Gene Therapy is based at the Cure, Deerfield’s innovation campus in New York City.
In other New York City-area tech and startup news:
- New York-based marketing company Tinuiti has become a strategic partner in the Snap Inc.’s (NYSE: SNAP) growing work with independent agencies. Tinuiti will gain access to Snap tools, teams and resources for clients, including early access and testing of new products, exclusive trading agreements, incentives and pricing reductions on new products and account activations, education and training opportunities for Tinuti staff. With Snapchat, Tinuiti said its clients are able to reach a “unique, valuable, and highly engaged audience, many of whom can't be reached via traditional methods.” Tinuiti has more than $3B in digital media under management and 1,000 employees.
- Blockchain security company CertiK has received an additional $60M investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global. The funding, which marks SoftBank’s first venture into Web3 security, follows CertiK’s $88M Series B3 round and $2B valuation, led by Insight Partners. This additional funding brings the total amount invested in CertiK over the past nine months to $290M.
- Global investment firm KKR has closed its KKR North America Fund XIII, an over-subscribed $19B fund focused on pursuing opportunistic private equity investments in North America. KKR said it will invest $2B of capital in the fund alongside investors through the its balance sheet, affiliates and employee commitments. The fund, NAX3, received support from new and existing investors globally, including public and private pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, private wealth platforms, family offices, high-net-worth individual investors and other institutional investors.
Source: Apertura Gene Therapy