Therapeutic delivery platform company Granza Bio announced the closing of its oversubscribed $7.14 million Seed led by Felicis and Refactor, along with Y Combinator and notable angel investors. The funding round also includes participation from other investors, including Metaplanet, Zeno Ventures, Ritual Capital, Pioneer Fund, Oxford Angel Fund, and North South Ventures. Notable angels joined the round including Richard Aberman (former YC Visiting Group Partner), JJ Fliegelman (former YC Visiting Group Partner), Eric Migicovsky (former YC Group Partner), Eric Eldon (former editor of TechCrunch), Eli Brown (founder of Guilded), Eoghan Mccabe (founder of Intercom), Benjamin Bryant (co-founder of Earbits), Yotam Rosenbaum (co-founder of Earbits), Will Olsen (co-founder of Engage Bio) and Joel Meyer.
Launched in 2024 by a team of cancer and immunology researchers at the University of Oxford, Granza Bio utilizes the discovery of attack particles, which is a powerful suite of weapons in the immune system’s arsenal that can fight diseases such as cancers, autoimmunity, and infections. But the team realized they lacked an effective delivery system for packaging and delivering attack particles to specific tissues.
To address this issue, Granza Bio’s platform offers a unique delivery system that focuses on three key areas:
1.) The ability to deliver a variety of cargo types (such as RNAs, proteins, and attack particles)
2.) The ability to deliver to a range of tissue sites
3.) Overcoming immunological activation triggered by the delivery vehicle
Dr. Ashwin Nandakumar, CEO, holds a PhD in Oncology, has previously set up clinical trials, and brings oncology start-up experience. And Dr. Jainarayanan, CSO, is a PhD in Interdisciplinary Bioscience and was recently selected as a Schmidt Science Fellow. Prof. Dustin is also the director of research at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at Oxford.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are developing a series of precision delivery shells that can encompass and direct any therapeutic cargo to the correct destination in our body. This work will be fundamental for turning promising discoveries in genetic medicine and cancer therapeutics into impactful treatments for patients.”
- Granza co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ashwin Nandakumar.
“Through the development of a comprehensive library of engineered shells, we aim to tackle the challenges of tropism, immunogenicity, and stability head-on. Our strength lies in the interdisciplinary nature of our team, spanning fundamental immunology to industrial manufacturing and scale-up processes. This is a pivotal moment for the field of drug delivery therapeutics and we are at the forefront of this transformation.”
- Dr. Ashwin Jainarayanan, Granza Bio’s Chief Scientific Officer.
“The immune system is nature’s most powerful mechanism for biological remediation. By improving the delivery and specificity of naturally occurring attack particles, Granza Bio can unlock a new world of capabilities for oncological and immunological diseases. Granza encompasses a unique combination of significant scientific advancements, a founding team with complementary skills, and deep domain expertise. We are thrilled to be working with them.”
- Tobi Coker, Deal Partner at Felicis
“I focus on finding technical founders who are experts in their fields and are magnets for customers, talent, and investors. Both Ashwins really fit that perfectly, in my opinion, as they build a better delivery mechanism for a variety of therapeutics,” said
- Zal Bilimoria, founding partner at Refactor
