Rampart Bioscience Secures $85 Million to Develop Novel DNA-Based Medicines

Rampart Bioscience said it completed an $85 million series A financing to create medicines using its DNA-based platform.

The new financing builds on an initial $40 million seed investment from OrbiMed. Rampart’s proprietary platform, called HALO, was developed based on cues from nature to overcome the key limitations and safety concerns of viral and early non-viral gene approaches. It is designed to produce highly potent, durable, and redosable therapies.

The company’s lead program is for the treatment of hypophosphatasia (HPP), a rare, often fatal genetic disease that prevents bone mineralization. Rampart has additional programs in development.

“There remains a significant gap to bridge technological progress with patient benefit. The Rampart team has tremendous heart and a fierce commitment to reshaping the treatment landscape for those in dire need of better options,” said Louis Breton, Rampart co-founder, CEO, and board director. “Our vision is to liberate patients and their families from the hardships of their disease by creating efficacious medicines that are within their reach and at costs that don’t break the system.”

Rampart’s executive management team collectively has over seven decades of biotechnology experience, including significant focus on the development of gene and cell-based therapies. Breton and Co-Founder and Chief Innovation and Technology Officer Jeffrey Bartlett previously worked together at gene and cell therapy company Calimmune, which Breton co-founded and which was acquired by CSL Behring in 2017. Rampart’s team of founders also includes Robert Heft, who led the development of the only approved therapy for HPP as CEO of Enobia, which was also backed by OrbiMed and which was acquired by Alexion in 2012. Dr. Bonita previously served on the board of Enobia.

Photo: Louis Breton, Rampart co-founder, CEO, and board director