Chroma Medicine Raises $135 Million to Advance Epigenetic Editing Technology and Expand Pipeline

Rare Daily Staff

Chroma Medicine, a genomic medicine company pioneering single-dose epigenetic editing therapeutics, completed a $135 million series B financing to advance its single-dose epigenetic editing therapies and support expansion of its platform designed to enable precise gene regulation while preserving genomic integrity.

“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.

Current gene editing approaches regulate gene expression by cutting or nicking DNA, introducing risks associated with leveraging unpredictable DNA repair pathways. Chroma’s single-dose epigenetic editors harness the 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. This approach enables Chroma to more effectively address a wide range of diseases and to target 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, chief scientific officer of Chroma. “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.”

GV led the financing 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.

Photo: Catherine Stehman-Breen, CEO of Chroma