Spotlight Therapeutics, a US-based gene therapy developer advancing University of California (UC) and ETH Zürich research, has raised $30m in a series A round led by GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of conglomerate Alphabet.
The corporate was joined by undisclosed other investors, the round coming in the wake of $7.3m in equity funding in January 2018 and $6.9m in September 2019, according to regulatory filings.
Spotlight is working on cell-targeted therapeutics for cancer and a class of blood disorders known as hemoglobinopathies. They will utilise Crispr gene editing technology and are being developed through its Targeted Active Gene Editor (TAGE) platform.
The company is advancing research by scientific co-founders Alex Marson, an associate professor at UC San Francisco, Patrick Hsu, an assistant professor at UC Berkeley, and Prof Jacbo Horn at ETH Zürich.
Marson said: “Spotlight’s unique approach represents the potential to expand applications and democratise gene editing for patients.”
Mary Haak-Frendscho, Spotlight’s president and chief executive, added: “Having the support of top-tier investors like GV will be important as we continue to build the company and its programs to treat serious diseases.”
Blake Byers, general partner at GV, has taken a seat on the startup’s board of directors in conjunction with the round.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, led a $30m series A round for US-based gene therapy developer Spotlight Therapeutics on Monday.

The corporate was joined by undisclosed other investors, the round coming in the wake of $7.3m in equity funding in January 2018 and $6.9m in September 2019, according to regulatory filings.

Spotlight is working on cell-targeted therapeutics for cancer and a class of blood disorders known as hemoglobinopathies. They will utilise Crispr gene editing technology and are being developed through its Targeted Active Gene Editor (TAGE) platform.

Company co-founder Alex Marson said: “Spotlight’s unique approach represents the potential to expand applications and democratise gene editing for patients.”

Mary Haak-Frendscho, Spotlight’s president and chief executive, added: “Having the support of top-tier investors like GV will be important as we continue to build the company and its programs to treat serious diseases.”

Blake Byers, general partner at GV, has taken a seat on the startup’s board of directors in conjunction with the round.