ReCode Therapeutics is formed around new science that may enable the delivery of genetic medicines to various organs of the body, and the startup has provided encouraging data for its treatment candidates targeting the lungs.Now the biotech startup has $120 million showed that it could deliver on the technology’s promise in other organs and cell types of the body.
The financing announced Wednesday was co-led by Bayer Leaps and AyurMaya, an affiliate of Matrix Capital Management.
ReCode, based in Menlo Park, California, uses lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver genetic medicines. When LNPs circulate in the blood, they preferentially seek out the liver. ReCode’s technology changes the way LNPs bind to proteins in the blood, targeting the liver. Scientists can then engineer therapies into other organs of the body. The technique, originally developed at the University of Texas Southwestern, is called Selective Organ Targeting, or SORT.
Two of ReCode’s lead therapeutic candidates are in development for the treatment of rare lung diseases.At last month’s American Thoracic Society’s 2022 International Meeting, the company presented them with encouraging preclinical data, including one in development. cystic fibrosis (CF) and another for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). The results showed that the therapies were delivered to target tissues in the lungs without significant exposure to other tissues. In addition, the therapies are able to unleash their genetic cargo, and the therapies cause the correct proteins to be expressed at what the company says are relevant levels.
LNP delivery brings several advantages over engineered viruses used in some genetic medicines. These viruses carry the risk of dangerous side effects. Furthermore, the immune system sees these viruses as foreign and produces antibodies against them. This means that the patient cannot be given a second dose. ReCode’s former CEO and current chief scientific officer David Lockhart told MedCity News last fall that lipids should not trigger the same immune response as a type of fat. This is important for treating chronic diseases that require ongoing treatment.
Both PCD and CF therapies are nebulized formulations. In addition to inhalation, ReCode says its technology can be used for genetic medicine, including intravenous infusion, subcutaneous or intramuscular injection, and spinal cord administration. Based on encouraging preclinical results in lung disease, ReCode said it plans to submit an investigational new drug application for the PCD drug in late 2022 and an investigational new drug application for the CF drug in mid-2023. The company also plans to apply the SORT technology to other tissue types of disease. Specific diseases have not been disclosed, but the company said it targets the central nervous system, liver and cancer. In addition, ReCode said it will use its technology to deliver a wider range of genetic cargoes, which could include gene-correcting drugs and small interfering RNAs.
ReCode’s work has attracted interest from several large pharmaceutical companies.the company’s The $80 million Series B round announced in October included cash from the venture capital arm of Pfizer and Sanofi. Amgen Ventures joined as a new investor in the financing announced Wednesday, an extension of the Series B round. With the latest financing, Matrix Managing Director Alan Colowick and Leaps by Bayer Venture Health Senior Director Rakhshita Dhar will join ReCode’s Board of Directors.
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