Korro Bio Raises $116 Million to Advance Pipeline of RNA Editing Programs

Korro Bio said it completed a $116 million series B financing round that will enable it to advance its lead program in development for patients with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD), an inherited genetic disorder leading to liver and lung disease, while expanding its pipeline to address prevalent diseases across multiple therapeutic areas.

Photo: Ram Aiyar, CEO and president of Korro Bio

Eventide Asset Management led the financing, with participation from new investors Fidelity Management & Research Company, Invus, Point72, Verition Fund Management, Monashee Investment Management, Sixty Degree Capital, and an additional healthcare specialist fund. All existing investors participated in the financing, including Atlas Venture, NEA, Wu Capital, Qiming Venture Partners USA, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Cormorant Asset Management, MP Healthcare Venture Management and Alexandria Venture Investments.

Korro’s proprietary editing platform co-opts endogenous human RNA editing system, combining data-driven design with off-the-shelf chemistry and delivery to achieve highly selective RNA editing. Korro says its unique technology enables the functional benefits of gene therapy with a transient, repeated-administration regimen that permits pharmacologic titration of therapeutic efficacy and safety, in a cost-effective drug product. As a result, Korro says its portfolio of innovative RNA therapies have the potential to propel genetic medicine beyond rare genetic diseases into larger patient populations with common diseases.

“Our proprietary RNA editing platform redirects endogenous human editing, ADAR, with the ability to change a single base on RNA with high specificity and efficiency. The elegance of the approach is in its simplicity and enables us to not only repair mutations that cause genetically inherited diseases but also to modulate select proteins with high specificity in prevalent diseases,” said Ram Aiyar, CEO and president of Korro Bio. “The series B financing has expanded our strong syndicate of investors enabling us to execute on our vision of advancing our pipeline of novel gene editing candidates to the clinic for patients suffering from a broad spectrum of diseases.”

Author: Rare Daily Staff