Synlogic develops "synthetic biotics," engineered probiotic bacteria designed to perform specific metabolic transformations within the microbiome to correct disease-causing metabolic dysregulation. The company's two lead programs target inborn errors of metabolism: Urea Cycle Disorder (UCD) and Phenylketonuria (PKU). Synlogic plans to advance both lead programs to the clinic in early 2017 and to expand its pipeline of synthetic biotics across multiple therapeutic areas. The company has a partnership with AbbVie to develop synthetic-biotics–based treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Financially, Synlogic closed a $40 million Series B investment, bringing combined Series A and B financing to $70 million. Investors and backers named in company materials include OrbiMed HealthCare Fund Management, Deerfield Management Company, Atlas Venture, New Enterprise Associates and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Synlogic develops a novel class of therapeutics called synthetic biotics, reengineering naturally occurring microorganisms with genetic circuits to address disease. Its two lead programs target rare inborn errors of metabolism: Urea Cycle Disorder (UCD) and Phenylketonuria (PKU), which the company is advancing toward clinical studies. Proceeds from an accelerated Series A financing totaling approximately $30 million will be used to rapidly advance these programs into the clinic. The company has signed a multi-year R&D collaboration with an undisclosed global pharmaceutical partner to apply its platform to inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and plans to pursue additional partnerships beyond rare diseases. Synlogic is backed by investors including Atlas Venture, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The company is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was founded in 2014. Synlogic is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company developing therapeutic microbes. It leverages a proprietary microbial engineering platform to advance a preclinical pipeline across several clinical applications. The company was founded in 2014 by Jim Collins, Ph.D. Synlogic plans to develop its technology platform and proprietary therapeutic applications and will collaborate with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on applications relevant to the developing world. Concurrent with the financing the company added Paul Miller, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer and Alison Silva as Chief Operating Officer. The company received a $5M investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of its previously announced Series A. Synlogic develops synthetically engineered therapeutic microbes using a proprietary microbial engineering platform. The company’s platform enables bacteria to sense physiologic conditions, perform therapeutic actions, and deactivate after completing their function. Synlogic plans to apply the platform to indications where systemically delivered pharmaceuticals have proven less effective and where targeted GI approaches may have merit. Its pipeline is preclinical and the company intends to use new financing to advance multiple preclinical programs across several clinical applications. Synlogic cites a substantial estate of issued and filed patents supporting its technology and highlights scientific leadership from its founding team. The company was co‑founded in Fall 2013 and is based in Cambridge, Mass., and was incubated as part of the Atlas Venture seed program.

Total raised

$104M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Feb 2016