Weill Cornell Medicine‘s monogenic diseases therapy developer Lexeo Therapeutics has made its public debut with $85m in series A financing.
Lexeo Therapeutics, a US-based gene therapy developer founded out of Weill Cornell Medicine, has emerged from stealth with an oversubscribed $85m series A round co-led by healthcare-focused venture capital firm Longitude Capital and investment firm Omega Funds.
Pharmaceutical firm Lundbeck and life sciences real estate investment firm Alexandria Real Estate Equities participated through their subsidiaries Lundbeckfonden Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments.
The transcation also attracted nonprofit research organisation Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, PBM Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Invus and Woodline Partners.
Founded in 2018, Lexeo aims to deliver treatments for genetic conditions that result from defective instructions from a single gene or gene pair – a variant known as a monogenic disease.
Lexeo plans to transport corrected gene instructions into diseased cells by leveraging adeno-associated viruses able to bypass the cell’s barrier without causing noticeable symptoms.
The founding team includes chief scientific adviser Dr Ronald Crystal, a professor and chairman of Weill Cornell’s Department of Genetic Medicine and director of its Belfer Gene Therapy Core facility.
Lexeo has three lead programmes underway including LX2006, an intravenous treatment for poor blood circulation caused by the rare genetic disease Friedreich’s ataxia.
LX2006 is due to enter a phase 1 study later this year, supported by proceeds from the series A round, and Lexeo also expects to progress LX1004, a central nervous system-focused drug for the inherited disorder CLN2 Batten disease, following a recent phase 1/2 study.
The spinout’s other lead asset is LX001, an APOE4-associated Alzheimer’s disease therapy currently undergoing phase 1 trials.
