Signify Bio, which is a pioneering biotechnology company harnessing the human body for the production of in situ protein therapeutics, announced an oversubscribed $15 million initial financing.
The funding round was led by Actium Group with participation from the Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund, Danaher Ventures (a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation), Eli Lilly and Company, and BrightEdge, the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) venture capital arm.
What Signify Bio does: Signify Bio is built on three proprietary and novel platforms encompassing both nucleic acid payloads and non-viral delivery systems designed to control the production, secretion and localization of protein therapeutics directly within the human body.
And the first is its modular Signal peptide Engineered Nucleic acid Design (SEND) platform, which enables control over the secretion and localization of any nucleic acid encodable protein of interest. The second platform, iPhos, is a novel lipid nanoparticle delivery system based on ionizable phospholipid (iPhos) lipid nanoparticles (iPLNPs) engineered to maximize endosomal escape and tissue specificity. The third utilizes Signify’s computational methods for the design and discovery of novel signal peptide sequences. Together, these platforms drive innovation in personalized protein therapeutics by combining the promise of signal peptide engineering with the speed and power of mRNA-encoded design.
Originally launched in the Siegwart Lab at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), Signify Bio has access to a team of scientists and cutting-edge technology through a strategic partnership with the university. This collaboration provides access to scalable LNP manufacturing and nucleic acid generation, broad expertise ranging from chemical synthesis to pre-clinical models, and a core competency in chemistry and engineering, all situated at UT Southwestern.
Signal peptides enable the secretion and localization of nucleic acid-encoded proteins, replicating natural protein trafficking pathways. The SEND platform supports modular control over the secretion of proteins into systemic circulation and their localization to cellular organelles, including the cell membrane, nucleus, lysosome, mitochondria, synapse, among others. And the iPhos LNP system enables dose-dependent protein secretion from diverse cell types with compatibility across multiple routes of administration, including subcutaneous (SQ), intramuscular (IM), and intravenous (IV).
Signify Bio is headed by a management team with deep industry expertise and is founded by pioneers in chemistry and nucleic acid engineering, including:
— Daniel J. Siegwart, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor, Director of the Program in Genetic Drug Engineering at UT Southwestern, Professor and W. Ray Wallace Distinguished Chair in Molecular Oncology Research, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Biochemistry at UT Southwestern, Co-founder of ReCode Therapeutics
— RA Session II, Co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer, former President, CEO, and Founder of Taysha Gene Therapies and former Chief Business Officer of the gene therapy subsidiaries of BridgeBio, former Board Member of ReCode Therapeutics;
— Lukas J. Farbiak, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Technology Advisor, Assistant Professor, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Biochemistry at UT Southwestern;
— David Morrissey, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, former Vice President, Head RNA Accelerator at Pfizer and Senior Vice President, Platform & Delivery Technology at Intellia Therapeutics; and
— Morag Stewart, Ph.D., Vice President of Translational Biology, former Senior Director, RNA Medicines at Pfizer Centers for Therapeutic Innovation and Head of Exploratory Biology at Flagship Pioneering.
Advisor: Chardan Capital served as Strategic Advisor to Signify Bio.
KEY QUOTES:
“Signify Bio’s modular platforms offer an unprecedented opportunity to engineer personalized protein therapeutics directly within the body, addressing long-standing challenges in drug production, delivery, and efficacy. With its versatility and adaptability, the company lays the groundwork for a new generation of precision medicine across a wide range of chronic and genetic disorders.”
Daniel J. Siegwart, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor at Signify Bio, and Director of the Program in Genetic Drug Engineering at UT Southwestern Medical Center
“The quality and diversity of our investor syndicate underscores the agility, flexibility, and broad applications for our proprietary platforms. The SEND platform and iPhos LNP system represent a groundbreaking step forward in nucleic acid therapeutics, transforming the human body into a biofactory for precise, targeted protein production.”
RA Session II, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Signify Bio
“We are thrilled to support Signify Bio in their mission to create personalized medicines that will revolutionize therapeutic protein delivery. The exceptional team at Signify Bio, with their deep expertise in nucleic acid engineering, is uniquely positioned to bring these technologies to patients. Their groundbreaking innovations and commitment to addressing unmet medical needs will transform the field of genetic medicine.”
Jun Il Kwun, Managing Director of Actium Group and Chair of the Board of Directors at Signify Bio
