Dyne Therapeutics Raises $50 Million to Develop Therapies for Muscle Diseases

Dyne Therapeutics completed a $50 million series A financing to develop targeted therapies for patients with serious muscle diseases.

Atlas Venture founded, seeded and incubated Dyne and was joined by Forbion and MPM Capital in the financing.

Dyne is developing medicines based on its proprietary platform, which precisely delivers nucleic acids and other molecules to skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle to minimizes systemic exposure. The company’s lead programs are designed to knock down gene expression for the treatment of rare, monogenic neuromuscular diseases. Dyne is also developing therapeutics for patients with cardiac and smooth muscle diseases.

Dyne will initially focus on myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), a rare, inherited disorder that causes muscle weakness and other life-limiting complications. There are currently no disease-modifying treatments for DM1, which affects an estimated 40,000 people in the United States.

“We are launching with a singular goal: to change the lives of patients with DM1 and other serious muscle diseases,” said Romesh Subramanian, president and CEO of Dyne. “Our innovative approach makes this possible, and our commitment to patients and their families makes it necessary.”

Dyne’s platform specifically targets muscle, minimizing systemic exposure. The company has completed preclinical studies indicating that this approach can deliver oligonucleotides that degrade disease-causing RNA, potentially restoring muscle health.

“Dyne’s breakthrough approach brings the power of modern oligo therapeutics and other payloads to patients with serious muscle diseases,” said Jason Rhodes, a partner at Atlas Venture and executive chairman of Dyne’s board of directors. “The combination of tissue-specific delivery, high potency and tolerability enables a broad product pipeline.”

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dyne’s leadership team has extensive experience in the discovery and clinical development of treatments for rare genetic diseases and novel therapeutic modalities. CEO Romesh Subramanian previously co-founded RaNA Therapeutics (now Translate Bio) and led new modality discovery research at Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

Catherine Stehman-Breen, Dyne’s chief medical officer, held senior leadership roles at Amgen and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and most recently served as chief medical officer of Sarepta Therapeutics. Dyne Senior Scientific Advisor Bruce Wentworth previously served as vice president and head of research for Sarepta, leading a team whose work contributed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Exondys 51, a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Mo Qatanani, Dyne’s vice president of discovery and translational research, previously led drug discovery research programs at Alexion and Merck. Jonathan McNeill, Dyne’s vice president of business development, previously supported business and corporate development at Editas Medicine.

Photo: Romesh Subramanian, president and CEO of Dyne

Author: Rare Daily Staff