The Venture Codex

Participated · Series A · May 2026

Cytospire Therapeutics develops differentiated multispecific engager antibodies that bind and activate both tissue/tumour and blood-resident gamma delta T cells to direct innate and adaptive effector immune responses. Its core technology aims to enable safer and more efficacious targeting of validated antigens that are intractable to CD3 T cell engagers due to toxicity. The company's lead programme, CYT X300, is in IND-enabling preclinical studies while the firm is advancing GMP manufacturing for the asset. Cytospire plans to use its newly raised Series A proceeds to progress this pipeline work. The company is led by CEO Natalie Mount. Recent corporate developments include strengthening the board with appointments from participating investors following the financing.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2024

Axonis is developing first-in-class oral small molecules that potentiate KCC2, a CNS chloride transporter crucial for inhibitory neurotransmission. Its lead candidate, AXN-027, is designed to restore functional inhibition and is being advanced into clinical proof-of-concept in patients with epilepsy and pain. The company plans to use its proprietary KCC2 discovery engine to develop next-generation compounds for additional indications including psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Axonis was spun out from Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard and Université Laval and is headquartered in Boston, MA. Leadership includes co-founder and CEO Joanna Stanicka, Ph.D., CSO Shane Hegarty, Ph.D., and new appointments for Chief Medical Officer Donald Manning, M.D., Ph.D., and COO Jeff Imbaro. The company has received grant support from multiple public and non-profit sources and will use the recent financing to fund clinical development and pipeline expansion. AXONIS Therapeutics is an emerging biotechnology company based in Cambridge, MA, advancing neuromodulating therapies for central nervous system disorders. Its pipeline focuses on neuron-reviving approaches that enable CNS neurons to resist degeneration, restore excitation/inhibition balance, and regenerate. The company’s primary program centers on upmodulation of the KCC2 protein and has completed proof-of-concept preclinical studies showing reactivation of spared neural tissue at sites of spinal cord injury. Targeted indications include spinal cord injury and epilepsy, with potential applicability to chronic pain, Rett syndrome and broader neurodegenerative conditions. AXONIS has licensed three technologies, including recently discovered methods to prevent neurodegeneration, and is investigating additional methodologies to revive neurons. Financially, the company secured $4 million in seed funding at its operational launch in early 2020, has received non-dilutive awards from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and NIH SBIR and two Golden Tickets from Boehringer Ingelheim and Astellas, and just raised additional financing to support clinical advancement and IND-enabling activities. AXONIS Therapeutics is advancing a novel KCC2 upmodulation therapy to reactivate spared neural tissue after spinal cord injury and is also investigating PTEN inhibition to regenerate injured nerve connections. The company has licensed or optioned two technologies from Boston Children’s Hospital to support its preclinical programs. Proceeds from the current financing will enable AXONIS to conduct preclinical studies and expand its team as it moves toward proof-of-concept milestones. AXONIS reports promising proof-of-concept results to date and expects to deliver additional proof-of-concept data in approximately one year. The company has received state and federal non-dilutive funding and other seed investment, and won a Boehringer Ingelheim Golden Ticket that provides one year of free lab space at LabCentral. Leadership includes CEO Joanna Stanicka, PhD, Executive Chair and co-founder Corey Goodman, PhD, and founder Bob Yant; the company is based in Cambridge, MA.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2023

Modofi Bio specializes in direct DNA modification to develop therapeutics that target tumor-associated DNA repair defects. The company is based in New Haven, Connecticut, with offices and laboratories at the Elm City Bioscience Center near Yale. It raised an additional $4.3M in seed funding. Investors in this round included existing backers Connecticut Innovation, HighCape Capital, Advantage Capital (Ironwood), and the National Brain Tumor Society, plus new investors Pathway BioVentures, The Sontag Foundation, and BrightEdge (the impact investment arm of the American Cancer Society). Modofi Bio intends to use the funds to advance its lead molecules toward IND-enabling studies and phase I clinical trials. The company’s core approach is exploiting tumor-associated DNA repair defects through direct DNA modification. Modifi Biosciences develops small-molecule therapeutics that directly modify DNA to selectively target tumors with defects in DNA repair, notably loss of MGMT expression. The company’s core platform has been validated in vitro and in vivo in preclinical glioma and other cancer models, showing selective anti-tumor activity and a favorable therapeutic index. Modifi Bio’s lead approach targets cancers lacking MGMT, a defect present in substantial subsets of colon, small cell lung, and non-small cell lung cancers, suggesting broader applicability beyond brain tumors. Founders and scientific leadership include researchers from Yale, and the company is based at the Elm City Bioscience Center in New Haven. The team highlights that their molecules are structurally similar to previously FDA‑tested drugs but are designed to overcome resistance mechanisms. With recent non-dilutive funding and a completed seed round, the company is positioning its assets for IND‑enabling work and first clinical translation.

Participated · Seed · May 2021

miRecule is a pre-clinical biotechnology company that develops RNA therapeutics using its DREAmiR genomics-based discovery platform, created through over a decade of NIH collaboration. The platform integrates genomic and clinical outcomes data to identify RNA targets and design chemically modified RNA therapeutics with targeted delivery. Its lead candidate, MC-30, is being advanced toward clinical development for head & neck cancer, and the company also has MC-DX4, an antisense oligonucleotide program for FSHD. miRecule intends to apply its platform across cancer, muscular dystrophy, and viral indications including HIV and COVID-19. The company spun out of the NIH into BioHealth Innovation’s incubator in 2017 and is based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. miRecule closed over $5.7M in seed funding, including a $2M non-dilutive Phase II SBIR grant from the National Cancer Institute.