Eligo Bioscience – a pioneering gene-editing company focused on addressing diseases driven by the expression of bacterial genes from the microbiome – recently announced a successful $30 million Series B funding round led by Sanofi Ventures. This funding round was supported by new investor Bpifrance (through its InnoBio 2 fund) and existing backers Khosla Ventures and Seventure Partners (with Health For Life Capital), propels Eligo towards becoming a clinical-stage biotech. In connection with this financing, Laia Crespo, Ph.D., Partner at Sanofi Ventures and Benoit Barteau, Investment Director at Bpifrance will join the board of directors.
This funding was earmarked for accelerating the development of Eligo’s flagship program EB005 – which targets moderate to severe acne vulgaris, an inflammatory disease that affects about 3% of the global population. The investment will fuel pre-IND and IND activities to achieve early human data readouts in a Ph1b/2a clinical trial. Additionally, it will facilitate Eligo’s expansion into other chronic diseases, including oncology.
Eligo stands at the forefront of a biotechnological revolution. And by focusing on the in-vivo delivery of genetic cargoes to the microbiome, Eligo’s technology goes beyond traditional gene therapy and gene editing, expanding the range of addressable genetic targets. Through precise genetic modification within the human microbiome, this unique approach holds the promise of radically altering the course of numerous chronic and life-threatening diseases that are either triggered or driven by the expression of bacterial genes.
Eligo was founded by Luciano Marraffini (Professor at The Rockefeller University and cofounder of Intellia Therapeutics, Timothy Lu (Professor at MIT, and CEO at Senti Biosciences), Dr. David Bikard (Professor at Institut Pasteur) and Xavier Duportet.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are excited to lead this financing for Eligo and support the company as they move to the clinic. We are impressed by the unique delivery and editing technologies that Eligo has developed, and we believe this will set the stage for Eligo to forge new paths in the application of in vivo gene-editing technologies.”
– Laia Crespo, Ph.D., Partner at Sanofi Ventures
“We are delighted to welcome additional prominent healthcare investors to our existing syndicate. We feel this reflects the strong support for our vision and confirms the potential of Eligo to create a novel class of transformative genetic medicines. This is a defining time for Eligo as this funding puts us in a strong position to make a significant leap in treating diseases by editing the genetic makeup of the human microbiome.”
– Xavier Duportet, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Eligo Bioscience
