Chroma Medicine, Inc., a genomic medicine company advancing single-dose epigenetic editing therapeutics, has completed a $135 million Series B financing.
The funding was led by GV (Google Ventures), with participation from additional new investors ARCH Venture Partners, DCVC Bio, Mubadala Capital, Sixth Street, and all existing investors, including Alexandria Venture Investments, Atlas Venture, Casdin Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Newpath Partners, Omega Funds, Osage University Partners, Sofinnova Partners, T Rowe Price, and Wellington Management.
The financing will support advancement of Chroma Medicine’s therapeutic programs toward the clinic, and continued investment in the company’s epigenetic editing platform.
“In the year since launch, we have made significant progress in advancing the pioneering work of our scientific founders towards harnessing the power of the cell’s epigenome to regulate gene expression and developing a robust portfolio of single-dose epigenetic editing therapeutics,” said Catherine Stehman-Breen, CEO of Chroma Medicine.
“We’re grateful to this exceptional syndicate of investors, whose commitment enables our ongoing drive to introduce this new class of precision genomic medicines with curative potential to patients with serious illnesses.”
About Chroma Medicine’s approach
Current gene editing approaches regulate gene expression by cutting or nicking DNA, which Chroma Medicine said can introduce risks associated with leveraging unpredictable DNA repair pathways.
Chroma Medicine’s single-dose epigenetic editors harness cells’ innate mechanism for gene regulation to precisely and durably silence, activate, and multiplex genes using a single platform, without changing the underlying DNA sequence. The company said this approach more effectively addresses a wide range of diseases and targets multiple pathways for complex diseases.
“Epigenetic editing opens the possibility of pursuing targets on the genome previously intractable with other therapeutic modalities; this includes the ability to target both protein coding and non-coding RNAs,” said Vic Myer, CSO of Chroma Medicine.
“Our approach enables precise regulation while avoiding break-induced mutations, translocations, and rearrangements associated with other technologies, removing limitations on the number of simultaneous edits that are possible.”
“Genomic medicine is an exciting and fast-evolving field, and epigenetic editing has emerged as a promising new frontier for gene regulation,” said Issi Rozen, venture partner, GV.
“Chroma’s technology enables durable modulation of gene expression—both individual genes and multiple genes at once—providing potentially transformative treatments for patients living with serious diseases.”