ElevateBio – a technology-driven company focused on powering the creation of life-transforming cell and gene therapies – announced recently the closing of its $401 million Series D financing led by the AyurMaya Capital Management Fund, managed by Matrix Capital Management, and joined by a leading group of new and existing investors. And ElevateBio’s syndicate now includes new investors Woodline, Lee Family Office (Asia), and R&D partner Novo Nordisk, and existing investors: Matrix Capital Management, The Invus Group, Emerson Collective, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Fidelity Management & Research Company, MPM Capital, F2 Ventures, Redmile Group, EcoR1 Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), EDBI, Vertex Ventures, iTochu, and a large institutional investor. In connection with the financing, Khalil Barrage, Managing Director of The Invus Group, was appointed to ElevateBio’s Board of Directors.
The proceeds from the funding will be used to further advance the company’s technology platforms – Life Edit gene editing, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and RNA, cell, protein, vector engineering – and BaseCamp, its end-to-end genetic medicine current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) manufacturing and process development business, to accelerate the design, manufacturing, and development of cell and gene therapies. And the funding will also support ElevateBio’s continued efforts to expand its geographic reach and increase its cGMP manufacturing capacity to provide its academic and industry partners with turnkey and scalable access to technologies and services across the full product lifecycle.
In connection with Novo Nordisk’s investment in the Series D financing, ElevateBio’s integrated subsidiary Life Edit Therapeutics also announced a multi-target collaboration with Novo Nordisk to discover and develop base editing therapies. Along with the equity investment, Life Edit will receive an upfront cash payment and is eligible to receive potential development, regulatory, and commercial milestones of $250-$335 million for each of the seven programs under the collaboration. Life Edit also has an option to opt into a global profit share for one program. This collaboration underscores ElevateBio’s strategy to form new industry partnerships where the company’s technology is at the foundation, while selectively advancing its own portfolio of genetic medicines.
Since the previous funding round in 2021, ElevateBio has supercharged its gene editing capabilities through the acquisition, integration, and growth of Life Edit’s novel RGN and base editing technologies, leading to multiple partnerships, including the recently announced collaborations with Moderna Therapeutics and Novo Nordisk. And ElevateBio has also expanded access to its iPSC platform technology through a partnership with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the formation of a new company aimed at developing iPSC-derived allogeneic immune cell therapies. The company has also increased BaseCamp manufacturing and process development capabilities to support a growing number of cell and gene therapy innovators.
KEY QUOTES:
“We have made significant strides in scaling our technologies and end-to-end capabilities in our pursuit to become the world’s most indispensable cell and gene therapy technology company. We are thrilled to welcome Khalil to our Board as his expertise will be invaluable as the number of strategic partners harnessing the power of our integrated ecosystem continues to grow. We’re emboldened by the pace of advancements to our technology platforms and continue to drive innovation from concept through commercialization and redefine how companies operate, how products are created, and how disease is treated.”
— David Hallal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ElevateBio
“ElevateBio has created a truly disruptive business model with integrated technologies, capabilities, and capacity for which we see accelerating need as the complexity of cell and gene therapies continues to grow. In this still-nascent industry, we believe ElevateBio is looking several steps ahead to pave the path for partners across the biopharmaceutical industry to accelerate innovation and bridge the gap between discovery and widespread delivery of cell and gene therapies as everyday medicine.”
— Khalil Barrage, Managing Director at The Invus Group
