Kriya Ther­a­peu­tics Announces $80 Million Series A Financing to Advance Gene Therapies for Highly Prevalent Serious Diseases

  • Kriya is focused on rationally designed gene therapies for severe chronic conditions affecting millions of patients
  • Financing proceeds to support the development of Kriya’s pipeline, internal discovery engine, and proprietary GMP man­u­fac­tur­ing infrastructure
  • Part­ner­ships in place with leading academic and research insti­tu­tions, including Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Palo Alto, California and Durham, North Carolina – May 12, 2020 – Kriya Ther­a­peu­tics announced today that it has raised $80.5 million in a Series A financing to fund the development of trans­for­ma­tive gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases. Kriya was formed in the fourth quarter of 2019 and has an industry-leading gene therapy team that includes former senior leadership from Spark Ther­a­peu­tics, AveXis, Sangamo Ther­a­peu­tics, and other gene therapy companies. Kriya’s pipeline today includes multiple AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, severe obesity, and other indications. The company is located in the Bay Area, California and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and is building a platform infra­struc­ture in partnership with leading academic insti­tu­tions and industry pioneers.

Series A investors include QVT, Dexcel Pharma, Foresite Capital, Bluebird Ventures (associated with Sutter Hill Ventures), Narya Capital, Amplo, Paul Manning, and Asia Alpha. This Series A round follows an initial seed financing completed by the company in the fourth quarter of 2019 led by Transhuman Capital, who also par­tic­i­pat­ed in the Series A round.

Kriya is focused on developing gene therapies for diseases affecting millions of patients, expanding the field of gene therapy beyond rare monogenic disorders. Kriya is targeting diseases where the underlying biology is well-understood, with the goal of rationally designing one-time gene therapies to durably express therapeutic proteins within the appropriate human tissues.

“There have been numerous successful gene therapies focused on rare monogenic diseases in recent years,” said Shankar Ramaswamy, M.D., Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Kriya Ther­a­peu­tics. ​“We see tremendous potential to expand the field and apply gene therapy to highly prevalent serious diseases. We are focused on designing gene therapies using algorithmic tools, scalable infra­struc­ture, and proprietary technology to optimize the efficacy and durability of our treatments. We look forward to accel­er­at­ing the development of our pipeline, platform tech­nolo­gies, and internal GMP man­u­fac­tur­ing capability with the funds raised in this Series A financing.”
Kriya’s initial pipeline includes multiple AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of metabolic diseases including type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and severe obesity:

  • KT-A112 is an inves­ti­ga­tion­al gene therapy admin­is­tered by intra­mus­cu­lar injection that delivers the genes to produce insulin and glucokinase for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
  • KT-A522 is an inves­ti­ga­tion­al gene therapy admin­is­tered by salivary gland injection that delivers the gene to produce a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP‑1) receptor agonist for type 2 diabetes and severe obesity.
  • KT-A832 is an inves­ti­ga­tion­al gene therapy admin­is­tered by intra­pan­cre­at­ic injection that delivers the gene to produce modified insulin growth factor 1 (IGF‑1) for type 1 diabetes.

Kriya’s founders and leadership team have deep experience in the design, development and man­u­fac­tur­ing of successful gene therapies and biological medicines:

  • Shankar Ramaswamy, M.D. – Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. Former member of early team of Roivant Sciences and Chief Business Officer of Axovant Gene Therapies
  • Roger Jeffs, Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman. Former Co-Chief Executive Officer of United Ther­a­peu­tics, and former board member of Sangamo Therapeutics
  • John Fraser Wright, Ph.D. – Scientific Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor. Professor of Pediatrics in the Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine at Stanford University, and Co-Founder and former Chief Technology Officer of Spark Therapeutics
  • Melissa Rhodes, Ph.D., D.A.B.T. – Chief Development Officer. Former Chief Development Officer of Altavant Sciences and Aerami Therapeutics
  • Britt Petty – Chief Man­u­fac­tur­ing Officer. Former Chief Technical Officer and Head of Global Man­u­fac­tur­ing at AveXis, a Novartis company
  • Daniel Chen – Chief Financial Officer. Former Vice President of Business Planning and Corporate Strategy at Portola Pharmaceuticals
  • Mitch Lower – Vice President of Technical Operations. Former Vice President of Global Engineering and Facilities at AveXis, a Novartis company
  • Zhu Pirot, Ph.D. – Vice President of Trans­la­tion­al Sciences. Former Head of Analytical Method Development, CMC lead at Sangamo Therapeutics
  • Brian Furmanski, Ph.D. – Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Former Senior Clinical Phar­ma­col­o­gy Reviewer at the U.S. Food and Drug Admin­is­tra­tion (FDA) Board-Certified Emergency Medicine Physician
  • Nachi Gupta, M.D., Ph.D. – Chief of Staff. Board-Certified Emergency Medicine Physician

“Kriya is building a leading team and cutting-edge infra­struc­ture to engineer best-in-class gene therapies for severe chronic conditions and accelerate their advancement into human clinical trials,” said Roger Jeffs, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Kriya. ​“The company is committed to incor­po­rat­ing the latest advance­ments in the field into the design and development of its therapeutic constructs. Through its R&D laboratory capa­bil­i­ties in the Bay Area and in-house process development and man­u­fac­tur­ing infra­struc­ture in Research Triangle Park, I believe that Kriya will be uniquely positioned to become a leader in the gene therapy field.”

About Kriya Ther­a­peu­tics
Kriya Ther­a­peu­tics is a next-generation gene therapy company focused on designing and developing trans­for­ma­tive gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases. With core operations in the Bay Area, California and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Kriya is estab­lish­ing a platform for the development of gene therapies targeting serious chronic diseases affecting millions of patients. The company’s initial pipeline includes multiple programs for the treatment of metabolic diseases including type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and severe obesity. For more information, please visit www​.kriyatx​.com.

Contact
Nachi Gupta, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief of Staff
ngupta@​kriyatx.​com