Hatch BioFund announced an investment in Optimeos Life Sciences, a Princeton University spinout developing a proprietary nanoparticle platform for the intracellular delivery of therapeutic macromolecules, including RNA, DNA, and proteins.
Hatch BioFund is an early-stage life sciences venture capital firm headquartered at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The investment supports Optimeos’ development of a novel non-viral nanoparticle platform for targeted gene therapy and biologics delivery.
Optimeos is based in Princeton, New Jersey, and has developed a proprietary drug delivery platform based on a patented process known as Coated Inverse Nanocarriers, or CINCs. The technology was refined over two decades in the laboratory of Princeton University Professor Robert Prud’homme.
The CINC platform enables scalable encapsulation of multiple payload types, including biologics, peptides, RNA, and DNA, into customizable nanocarrier particles. The company said the platform has demonstrated encapsulation efficiencies exceeding 90%.
Optimeos’ platform is designed to support modular tissue targeting, tunable immunogenicity, and improved dosing profiles. The company’s lead program is a gene replacement therapy for CTLN1, a rare disease.
The company’s broader pipeline includes programs focused on T cell engineering and targeted pulmonary applications. Optimeos is also partnering with biopharmaceutical companies to develop next-generation therapeutics across a range of diseases.
Optimeos is focused on addressing a key challenge in modern drug development: delivering complex therapeutic molecules safely, precisely, and at scale. The company said its technology was developed to overcome key limitations associated with current lipid nanoparticle delivery technologies.
Hatch said Optimeos fits its strategy of backing early-stage biopharma companies with strong academic science, experienced leadership, and platform technologies with broad therapeutic potential.
KEY QUOTES:
“Optimeos was founded on the conviction that the next great wave of medicine — RNA, DNA, and biologic therapies — will only reach its potential if we can deliver these molecules precisely, efficiently, and durably to the right cells and tissues. We are thrilled to have Hatch join us on our mission to address one of the most consequential bottlenecks in modern drug development: how to deliver complex therapeutic molecules safely, precisely, and at scale.”
Shahram Hejazi, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Optimeos
“We are proud to welcome Optimeos to our portfolio. Optimeos represents exactly the kind of company Hatch was built to support — exceptional science from a world-class academic institution, a seasoned leadership team, and a platform technology with the potential to unlock an entirely new generation of medicines. We look forward to partnering with the Optimeos team as they bring their technology to its full commercial potential.”
Lorenzo Pellegrini, Ph.D., Managing Partner of Hatch BioFund
“It is gratifying to see the technology developed in my laboratory over twenty years attracting the investment and partnerships necessary to make a real difference in patients’ lives. The CINC platform is transformational – it opens possibilities for RNA, DNA, and biologic medicines that simply were not achievable before. Hatch‘s investment is an important milestone in bringing that promise to fruition.”
Robert Prud’homme, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University
