Beam has emerged out of Harvard University with $87m in series A funding to commercialise gene editing technology, with additional research licensed from Broad Institute and Editas Medicine.
Beam Therapeutics, a US-based biotech spinout from Harvard University, emerged out of stealth yesterday with a $87m series A round co-led by Arch Venture Partners, the VC firm spun out of University of Chicago.
F-Prime Capital, an investment subsidiary of financial services conglomerate Fidelity, co-led the round.
Beam Therapeutics is working on precision genetic medicines using base editing, a form of genome editing that enables the precise altering of DNA or RNA base pairs using Crispr technology.
The spinout is focusing on treatments for a range of serious, unspecified diseases. Its approach relies on repairing mutations, adding protective genetic variations or modulating the expression and functioning of disease-causing genes.
Beam has signed three distinct licence agreements. The first covers two base editing platforms based on research by David Liu, professor in Harvard University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
The second agreement was inked with Broad Institute, a biomedical and…
