Design unlocks $45m series A

Design Therapeutics, a US-based degenerative disorder medication developer spun out by University of Wisconsin-Madison, closed a $45m series A round on Friday led by SR One, the corporate venturing fund of pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline.
Hedge fund manager Cormorant Asset Management, venture capital firm Quan Capital and investment group WestRiver also took part in the series A round.
Design Therapeutics is targeting degenerative diseases caused by malignant recurrences of genetic code, known as nucleotide repeat disorders, which, depending on their location, either alter gene expression or carry out toxic instructions.
Design’s founding team includes Aseem Ansari, a former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member who now acts as chairman of the Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The series A capital will go to pre-clinical projects including Design’s candidate for Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare genetic disease characterised by impaired limb sensations as well as diminished movement and speech.
Design also has discovery programs underway targeting fragile X syndrome – an intellectual disability caused by repeats in the fragile X mental retardation gene – and myotonic dystrophy, a disorder which progressive impairs muscle function.
Simeon George, chief executive of SROne, has joined the board of directors in conjunction with the series A round.