Genetic medicine startup Tune Therapeutics has secured an additional $175 million to develop therapies that “tune” genes rather than editing them directly. This approach aims to treat diseases by altering gene expression, rather than targeting the virus or disease-causing mechanism directly.
The funding round follows a busy week for private financing in biotech, with nearly $2 billion worth of investment announced since Monday. Tune’s lead therapy, Tune-401, is designed to treat chronic hepatitis B by silencing viral DNA and has the potential to benefit over 250 million people worldwide who are affected by the disease.
Tune’s CEO, Akira Matsuno, likened this approach to “shutting off a faucet” rather than just slowing down its flow. The company has begun a Phase 1 trial of Tune-401 in New Zealand and Hong Kong, with scientists touting epigenetic editing as more efficient and less disruptive than traditional DNA-cutting technologies like CRISPR.
The funding was co-led by New Enterprise Associates, Yosemite, Regeneron Ventures, and Hevolution Foundation. William Greene, chief investment officer at Hevolution Foundation, stated 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 on epigenetic editing technology, including nChroma Bio and Epicrispr Therapeutics.
However, funding for genetic medicine startups has declined in 2024 compared to the two years prior, according to data from BioPharma Dive. Despite this trend, Tune’s $175 million round demonstrates confidence in its approach and potential to treat a range of diseases using epigenetic editing technology.
Source: https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/tune-series-b-epigenetic-editing-hepatitis-b/737052