Announcing our Series Seed financing
Six years ago, I had dinner with my friend and co-founder Andrew Hessel and he told me something that blew my mind: it is possible to 3D print DNA. With this technology, we could engineer viruses for all kinds of purposes. One of the most compelling is to use these viruses as cancer therapies. My curiosity went into overdrive. Soon, we were spending long hours with our other co-founder Chad Moles, Chief Science Officer, figuring out how to turn this idea into reality.
Using viruses as cancer therapies is not a new concept. However, our approach at Humane Genomics is unique, because we use synthesized DNA (DNA synthesis is a process very similar to 3D printing, since you turn a computer file into a physical product) to construct RNA viruses with what we call 2-factor authentication. In simpler terms, we design viruses to infect only cancer cells (selective infection) and then replicate only within those cells (selective replication), sparing healthy cells.
It has taken us several years to get the technology working. Even the initial step to make a functional virus from synthetic DNA was hard. But we kept at it, and now, we have developed a modular design with 2-factor authentication and we have very promising data showing that it works really well in cells and in mice. We have the beginnings of a platform to engineer cancer killing viruses!
Our first target is pediatric liver cancer. Working closely with Texas Children’s Hospital we have developed an oncolytic virus that shows the ability to quickly kill cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone. This is remarkable and exciting since there are no good therapies for pediatric liver cancer. We are working hard to bring this therapy followed by others to the clinic as soon as possible. To get our first therapy into trials requires a lot more work like: GMP manufacturing and preclinical animal tests, which in turn costs time and a lot of money.
That is why we are thrilled to announce that we have raised a round of funding led by Union Square Ventures. They invest at the edge of large markets being transformed by technological and societal pressures – perfect for what we are doing at Humane Genomics. After all, cancer therapeutics is a huge market that is being transformed by new technologies like synthetic biology and an urgent need for more affordable and more effective treatments.
Chad and I are looking forward to collaborating with USV to accelerate our mission: to cure cancer with engineered viruses. We are excited for the journey ahead and grateful for everyone who has believed in us so far. Together, we hope to bring a whole new wave of cancer therapies to patients who need them most.