nChroma Bio

European life sciences investor Sofinnova Partners on Tuesday closed a new biotechnology-focused fund, raising 165 million euros, or more than $180 million, to help young drugmakers advance new medicines.Called Biovelocita II, the fund was backed by major pharmaceutical companies Amgen and Bristol Myers Squibb as well as Pfizer Ventures.At least three new startups have already been launched out of the fund: U.K.-based Forth Therapeutics, French biotech Signadori Bio and Italys BioClec. None of the companies disclosed how much funding they individually received.Forth is developing treatments for fibrosis based on research from the lab of University of Edinburgh researcher Neil Henderson. The company was also backed by the universitys venture fund Old College Capital.Signadori, which will develop cell therapies for cancer, comes from the oncology research center Gustave Roussy. Sofinnova and Gustave Roussy first struck a partnership in 2023 to assess research that could be spun into biotech startups, and has reviewed 50 possible projects since launching the collaboration, according to the cancer center.The third, BioClec, is developing Alzheimers therapies. The Milanese startup was co-founded by Marco Colonna, a Washington University in St. Louis researcher whose lab studies innate immune mechanisms in Alzheimer`s disease and neurodegeneration.We have now developed a pan-European strategy and assembled a world class team to create and manage companies across the European biotech ecosystem, Graziano Seghezzi, a managing partner at Sofinnova, said in a statement.Earlier this month, Sofinnova said it had raised 1.2 billion in funds to support a variety of life sciences and healthcare projects. Launched in 1972, Sofinnovas recent investments have included nChroma Bio, CinCor Pharma and Amolyt Pharma, the latter two of which were acquired by AstraZeneca.Since 2022, Sofinnova has backed 21 biotech companies, according to data from BioPharma Dive.With the new funds, we anticipate supporting 50 to 60 new companies, empowering a new wave of entrepreneurs tackling some of the worlds most pressing health and sustainability challenges, Antoine Papiernik, Sofinnovas chairman, said in a statement in early March.The firm first kicked off its Biovelocita strategy by investing in Italian biotechs in late 2023. The second iteration of the fund will extend its reach into France, the U.K. and Denmark, with the potential to back startups from other European countries in the future. '

European venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners has raised 1.2 billion euros, or nearly $1.3 billion, in fresh funds to invest in life sciences and healthcare companies, the group announced Tuesday.With the new funds, we anticipate supporting 50 to 60 new companies, empowering a new wave of entrepreneurs tackling some of the worlds most pressing health and sustainability challenges, Antoine Papiernik, Sofinnovas chairman, said in a statement.Sofinnova is one of the most active biotech investors, according to data from BioPharma Dive. Since 2022, it has backed 21 biotech companies, spanning many drugmaking modalities and disease areas. Among its investments are gene therapy company Chroma Medicine, which announced late last year it would merge with Nvelop Therapeutics to form nChroma Bio, as well as CinCor Pharma and Amolyt Pharma, which were acquired by AstraZeneca in 2023 and 2024 respectively.The 1.2 billion haul means the firm, which was launched in 1972, has more than 4 billion in assets under management. Sofinnova didnt specify how those funds will be allocated across its investment strategies, which include backing drug startups as well as companies developing medical devices and digital therapeutics. Further details on individual funds will be revealed upon their final closings, the firm said.The raise is one of the first for a major life sciences venture firm in 2025. Last year, notable startup backers including Arch Venture Partners, Forbion and Flagship Pioneering announced fresh funds each exceeding $2 billion, despite what industry observers described as a sluggish fundraising environment.The number of biotech funds raised by venture capital firms peaked in 2021 with 137 new funds bringing in $30.8 billion, according PitchBook the height of a frenzy in investment and initial public offerings for healthcare and life sciences companies. In 2024, that number dropped to 38, though the amount raised,at $16 billion,didnt drop as sharply.More capital is flowing into fewer, but larger deals as investors prioritize “companies that demonstrate validated clinical data and clear commercialization pathways,“ Pitchbook report author Kazi Helal wrote.Conversely, seed and early-stage investments are likely to face significant challenges, as the scarcity of new fund closures among emerging managers and weak exit activity will constrain capital recycling, he wrote. '

Genetic medicine startup Tune Therapeutics has raised another $175 million to develop therapies capable of tuning genes to treat disease, rather than editing them by cutting or replacing DNA directly.Tune disclosed the Series B round on Sunday, the eve of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which regularly features as a curtain-raising meeting for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. It follows a busy week for private financing in biotech, adding to nearly $2 billion worth of investment announced by venture firms tracked by BioPharma Dive since Monday.Tunes lead therapy, dubbed Tune-401, is designed to treat chronic hepatitis B by silencing the viral DNA thats both integrated into an infected cells genome and circulating in loops within the cell. More than 250 million people worldwide are estimated to have chronic hepatitis B infections, which can cause liver failure and cancer. Researchers see altering gene expression via epigenetic editing as a way to block cells from producing more of the virus, rather than fighting the virus directly, as existing drugs do.Its thinking about addressing a leak by trying to shut off the faucet, said Akira Matsuno, one of Tunes co-founders and now its chief financial officer. Many therapies ... either try to slow down the pace or are really good at getting the water out of the tub, if you will. But ultimately, you have to be able to shut off the faucet.The company has begun a Phase 1 trial of Tune-401 in New Zealand and Hong Kong.Scientists have described epigenetic editing as more efficient and less disruptive than DNA-cutting technologies like CRISPR, proposing that it could also be used to turn genes on or off.We have these targeted, really specific therapies that do not confer DNA damage, Matsuno said. It opens up a lens with regards to the types of opportunities and settings we can go into over time.Tunes science builds on research by genetic medicine pioneers Charles Gersbach at Duke University and Fyodor Urnov at the University of California, Berkeley.The companys Series B round was co-led by New Enterprise Associates, Yosemite, Regeneron Ventures and Hevolution Foundation. When Tune launched in 2021, it raised a $40 million Series A.Chronic diseases of aging are accelerating in incidence, prevalence, and severity, and current approaches are simply inadequate, William Greene, chief investment officer at Hevolution Foundation, said in a statement. It is our belief that epigenetic editing may prove to be the transformative modality we need to enable a new era of regenerative medicine.Tune is one of several companies working to advance epigenetic editing as a drugmaking technology. Among its competitors in the field is nChroma Bio, which formed late last year from a merger between Chroma Bio and Nvelop Therapeutics. NChroma is also researching a potential treatment for hepatitis B, but has not entered human testing. Epicrispr Therapeutics, formerly known as Epic Bio, is researching treatments for several conditions including a form of muscular dystrophy and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.Beyond epigenetic editing specifically, startups working in genetic medicine are seeing less investment flow into their field. Funding of cell and gene therapy developers declined in 2024 compared to the two years prior, according to BioPharma Dive data. '