LyGenesis Secures $4M Convertible Debt Financing to Advance Liver Regeneration Therapy into Clinical Development

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on October 21, 2019, LyGenesis, a biotechnology company focused on organ regeneration, announced the completion of a total of $4 million in private financing. This round of funding came from convertible note funds provided by Juvenescence and Longevity Vision.

LyGenesis, founded in 2017, is a biotechnology company headquartered in Pennsylvania, USA. The company’s core product under development is an organ regeneration technology platform that enables patients’ lymph nodes to function as bioreactors, facilitating the regeneration of ectopic organs.

The uniqueness of LyGenesis’ technology lies in its ability to use a single donor organ to treat dozens of patients. In traditional treatment modalities, one donor organ is typically used to treat only one patient. Furthermore, LyGenesis’ organ transplantation therapy does not require major surgery; instead, it employs outpatient endoscopic ultrasound to transplant somatic cells. Once implanted, the donor cells proliferate and develop into ectopic organs.

LyGenesis’ primary allogeneic cell therapy program focuses on liver regeneration in patients with advanced liver disease. The company is also developing therapies for other organs, including the thymus, pancreas, and kidneys.

Following the completion of this funding round, LyGenesis’s liver regeneration technology is scheduled to enter Phase 2a clinical trials for patients with end-stage liver disease in 2020. To date, the company has completed two rounds of financing, raising a total of $7 million.

Dr. Michael Hufford, Co-founder and CEO of LyGenesis, stated, “We have advanced our liver regeneration program through preclinical trials, and this financing will help us rapidly transition into the clinical phase. Our ability to utilize lymph nodes as bioreactors has also attracted interest from partner companies seeking technologies that enable their gene-modified cell therapies to achieve therapeutic effects in patients.”

Greg Bailey, Co-founder, CEO, and MD of Juvenescence, said, “We are pleased to provide financial support to LyGenesis as it transitions into clinical development.” Dr. Bailey also serves on the board of directors of LyGenesis.

Sergey Young, founder of the Longevity Vision Fund, stated: “Just a few years ago, ectopic organ regeneration existed only in science fiction. The technological advancements made by LyGenesis mark the transition of ectopic organ regeneration from laboratory research to clinical trials.”

Juvenescence, founded in 2016, is a biopharmaceutical development company headquartered in the British Virgin Islands. The company develops therapies to extend human lifespan. To date, Juvenescence has raised $111 million to invest in an ecosystem focused on developing therapies for age-related diseases and regeneration.

Longevity Vision is an investment fund headquartered in New York, USA. The firm is dedicated to making healthcare affordable and enabling longevity for all, primarily by investing in startups developing technologies to extend human lifespan and mitigate the adverse effects of aging.

(Compiled by: He Li)