There’s a new kid on the block. This week, Aera Therapeutics announced its official launch with $193 million in financing from leading life science investors such as ARCH Venture Partners, GV and Lux Capital.
The company is hoping to use its proprietary delivery platform to unlock the potential of genetic medicines across multiple therapeutic areas. Aera’s platform is based on protein nanoparticles (PNP), which leverage endogenous human proteins that can self-assemble to form capsid-like structures and can package and transfer genetic material.
The platform also includes a therapeutic enzyme platform based on the discovery of novel and programmable enzyme use for gene editing. Area was founded by Feng Zhang, who has played a crucial role in developing CRISPR technologies and is a leader in the field of optogenics.
