Participated · Series A · Sep 2025

Integra Therapeutics is a spin‑out from Pompeu Fabra University (founded in 2020) developing the FiCAT platform, which combines CRISPR‑Cas accuracy with an engineered piggyBac transposase to address payload size, stability, and accuracy limitations in gene therapy. The platform targets applications across genetic, oncological, and autoimmune diseases and is being used to advance next‑generation CAR‑T therapies. The company is also developing a first gene therapy candidate for a rare pediatric liver disease, supported by an EIC Accelerator grant. Integra plans to integrate new advances into FiCAT, expand cell engineering capabilities, and facilitate technology transfer to the pharmaceutical industry. The team intends to use new funding to support preclinical validation of CAR‑T programs and to scale its cell engineering operations. Leadership includes co‑founders Dr. Marc Güell and Dr. Avencia Sánchez‑Mejías; the company is based in Barcelona. Integra Therapeutics is a Barcelona‑based biotech spin‑off (founded 2020 from Pompeu Fabra University) developing FiCAT, a gene‑writing platform intended to overcome current limits on size, precision and stability. Its core product, FiCAT, targets ex vivo engineering of T cells and hematopoietic stem cells and systemic in vivo gene therapy using non‑viral lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery. The company plans to use initial funding to support pre‑marketing activities for cell therapy applications across rare diseases, autoimmune disorders and oncology. In parallel, Integra will generate proof‑of‑concept data for a first gene therapy aimed at a serious pediatric hepatic disease using systemic non‑viral delivery. Longer term, Integra intends to expand FiCAT to extra‑hepatic indications and to pursue licensing and co‑development partnerships to broaden patient access. The company is led by co‑founders Dr Marc Güell and Dr Avencia Sánchez‑Mejías. Integra Therapeutics develops next-generation gene writing tools and is advancing a gene writing platform called FiCAT to improve safety and efficacy of advanced therapies. The company targets prevention and treatment of genetic diseases and cancers with unmet medical needs. Co-founded by Marc Güell and Avencia Sánchez-Mejías, Integra is working toward a FiCAT platform prototype and preclinical validation. The planned preclinical work includes in vivo and ex vivo models. Financially, the company raised an additional €1.5m in seed funding in March 2022 following a €4.5m seed raise in December. The new investment includes participation from Columbus Venture Partners, which will place a representative on the board. Integra Therapeutics (Integra Tx) is a biotechnology spin-off from Pompeu Fabra University focused on creating next-generation gene writing tools to make advanced therapies safer and more effective. The company was founded in late 2020 based on technology developed in the Translational Synthetic Biology Lab led by Dr. Marc Güell and Avencia Sánchez-Mejías. Integra intends to complete a prototype of its gene writing platform and carry out preclinical validation using in vivo and ex vivo models. It plans to manage and expand its patent portfolio through 2022 and 2023. The company raised €4.5M in its first round of funding to support these development activities. After prototyping and preclinical work, Integra plans to open a Series A to seek regulatory approval and carry out clinical trials with patients.

Participated · Series C · Jan 2025

Be Bio pioneers Engineered B Cell Medicines (BCMs), a platform that programs primary human B cells to produce therapeutic proteins continuously and durably. Its lead programs, BE-101 (Factor IX for hemophilia B) and BE-102 (alkaline phosphatase for hypophosphatasia), are built on this BCM platform and designed to be titratable and re-dosable without preconditioning. BE-101 has an FDA-cleared IND (May 2024), Fast Track designation (September 2024), and is being evaluated in the Phase 1/2 BeCoMe-9 trial to generate clinical proof-of-concept. BE-102 has been selected as a development candidate and is being advanced toward the clinic. The company says proceeds from the Series C will advance BE-101 through proof-of-concept and move BE-102 into clinical development. Be Bio was founded in October 2020 and is based in Cambridge, Mass. Be Biopharma develops engineered B Cell Medicines (BCMs) to improve outcomes for patients with Hemophilia B, other genetic diseases, cancer, and other serious conditions. Its lead program, BE-101, is engineered to insert the human Factor IX (FIX) gene into primary human B cells to enable continuous expression of active FIX. BE-101 aims to deliver sustained therapeutic FIX activity with a single infusion, with the flexibility to be titrated or re-dosed and without the need for preconditioning. The US FDA cleared the BE-101 IND in May 2024 and granted Fast Track designation in September 2024. The company has initiated the Phase 1/2 BeCoMe-9 trial and plans to use the new funding to achieve clinical proof of concept for BE-101 and to advance BE-102. Be Biopharma is led by CEO Joanne Smith-Farrell and is based in Cambridge, MA. Be Biopharma develops Engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM), operating autologous and allogeneic B‑cell therapy platforms. The company is advancing a broad pipeline initially focused on rare disease and cancer. As it develops its platform, Be Biopharma plans to expand into infectious disease, neurological conditions and autoimmune disease. It closed a $130M financing to support platform advancement and to progress pipeline candidates toward the clinic, bringing total investment to over $180M. Founded in October 2020 and based in Cambridge, MA, the company was launched by Longwood Fund and B‑cell engineering pioneers David Rawlings and Richard James, and is led by CEO Joanne Smith‑Farrell. Be Biopharma develops engineered B cells as a new category of medicines, using the human body's native protein factories to produce therapeutic proteins. The company aims to precisely engineer B cells to exploit their high protein production, selective tissue targeting, and potentially long programmable lifetimes. Be Bio intends its medicines to be durable, re-dosable, and administered without toxic conditioning, opening avenues to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, monogenic disorders, and enhance responses to infectious pathogens. The platform builds on pioneering work by David Rawlings and Richard James at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Leadership and scientific founders include Longwood Fund, David Rawlings, Richard James, David Steinberg (CEO and co-founder), Aleks Radovic-Moreno, and Lea Hachigian. The company is based in Cambridge, Mass.

Participated · Equity · Dec 2023

EvolveImmune develops immuno-oncology biologics that provide sustained immune activation while directly targeting tumor cells within a single drug. The company integrates signaling to enable its EVs platform to directly target tumor cells and amplify localized cytokine secretion at tumor sites. Its approach is designed to provide tissue-localized cytokine amplification to maximize tumor cell killing. EvolveImmune positions its EVs as the first biologic to directly target tumor cells and deliver focused cytokine effects in the tumor microenvironment. The article reports the company completed a $37 million financing round, indicating external investor support for its technology. No operating metrics such as revenue or user counts are provided in the article.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2023

Harness Therapeutics is a Cambridge, UK–based biotechnology company developing oligonucleotide-based therapies to upregulate protein expression for neurodegenerative diseases. The company leverages insights into RNA biology and post-transcriptional regulation, originally advancing an IncRNA “SINEUP” platform and subsequently broadening its oligonucleotide toolset and bespoke analytical capabilities. It focuses on neurodegeneration targets with strong biological and genetic validation and is led by CEO Jan Thirkettle. Its lead programme targets the FAN1 nuclease for Huntington’s Disease. The company intends to use the new funding to advance that programme towards the clinic. To date the company has raised a total of £17.6M, including the additional £4M reported in this round. Transine Therapeutics is a Cambridge, UK–based biotechnology company that has developed the SINEUP® platform to create a novel class of therapeutic RNAs that bind mRNA and enhance translation to upregulate target proteins. The company is pursuing programmes across Central Nervous System and Ophthalmology indications and currently reports three active programmes. Transine says it expects key in vivo data this year and aims to leverage its platform broadly across diseases with unmet needs. The team was founded by Professors Piero Carninci and Stefano Gustincich and combines expertise in RNA biology, drug discovery and platform commercialisation. Recent financing strengthens its balance sheet to accelerate platform and product development and support further partnering options. Transine Therapeutics is a private biotech developing a novel class of therapeutic RNAs—SINEUPs®—that upregulate endogenous protein expression by enhancing mRNA translation. Synthetic SINEUPs® are described as universal, specific, tunable and able to raise protein levels within a physiological range, aiming to extend the druggable proteome beyond the reach of small molecules, conventional biologics or gene therapies. The modular platform enables rapid design of SINEUPs for almost any mRNA target and supports delivery‑agnostic approaches including naked oligonucleotides, AAV vectors, or non‑viral systems. Transine plans to build a pipeline of mRNA‑targeted therapeutics initially focused on central nervous system and ophthalmology applications. The company closed an extended £9.1M seed round co‑led by Takeda Ventures and the Dementia Discovery Fund to advance its proprietary platform and pipeline. Founded in 2020 and based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, UK, Transine was founded on work by Professors Stefano Gustincich and Piero Carninci and is backed by Takeda Ventures and DDF.

Led · Equity · May 2023

Larkspur Biosciences develops precision cancer immunotherapies using its proprietary LarkX platform, which leverages patient genetics, immune phenotypes, bioinformatics, and complex in vitro models to discover immune-evasion signatures. Its lead programs include an approach to lipid remodeling intended to uncloak tumors and a program targeting Pin1, a mechanism of fibroblast differentiation to activate immune cells. The company’s initial clinical strategy targets a genetically- and immunologically-characterized subtype of colorectal cancer whose patients have T cells at the tumor and can be identified via biopsy. Larkspur positions these insights as applicable across multiple cancer indications that share evasion signatures. The company is led by CEO Catherine Sabatos-Peyton and was founded by Drs. Lewis Cantley, Nathanael Gray, and Vijay K. Kuchroo. It raised financing to advance IND-enabling studies and further ongoing preclinical work.