eGenesis Completes $125 Million Financing

Rare Daily Staff

eGenesis, a gene-editing and genome-engineering company developing human-compatible organs, tissues, and cells, said it completed a $125 million series C financing to advance the company’s lead programs in kidney and islet cell transplant into human proof-of-concept studies.

In addition, the funds will be used for continued development of the company’s proprietary gene-editing platform and scaling of GMP production.

Farallon Capital Management, Polaris Partners, HBM Healthcare Investments, Invus, Samsara BioCapital, LifeSci Venture Partners, Irving Investors, Catalio Capital Management, SymBiosis, Altium Capital, Monashee Investment Management, and Osage University Partners all participated in the round. It also included investment participation from existing investors including Leaps by Bayer, Fresenius Medical Care Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Wellington Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Alta Partners.

The demand for lifesaving organs far outnumbers available supply. In the U.S. alone, more than 110,000 people are on the national transplant list. 20 people die every day due to lack of available organs for transplant and every 10 minutes a new name is added to the national transplant waitlist.

The concept of xenotransplantation (the transplantation of organs, tissue, and cells from one species to another) has been explored for decades, with the pig considered the most suitable donor for humans. However, virology and immunology hurdles prevented the field from advancing beyond early preclinical research. With the advent of advanced gene editing technologies, addressing these historical challenges is now within reach.

“eGenesis has developed a scientific platform that will transform transplant medicine,” said Srini Akkaraju, founder and managing general partner at Samsara BioCapital. “We are excited about the progress that eGenesis has made in kidney and islet cell transplant which could address the fast-growing unmet need for patients with kidney failure and type 1 diabetes.”

In conjunction with the closing of the financing, Polaris Partners’ Isaac Ciechanover and Intercept Pharmaceutical’s founder and former CEO Mark Pruzanski joined the eGenesis board of directors.

Photo: Srini Akkaraju, founder and managing general partner at Samsara BioCapital