Beam Therapeutics Secures $135 Million Series B Financing to Advance Next-Generation Gene Editing Platform

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on March 6, 2019, U.S.-based Beam Therapeutics completed a $135 million Series B financing round. New investors in this round included Redmile Group, LLC, Cormorant Asset Management, GV, Altitude Life Science Ventures, and other undisclosed investors. Existing investors F-Prime Capital and ARCH Venture Partners also participated in the financing. The funds raised will be used to develop next-generation gene-editing technologies and expand its pipeline of gene-editing programs.

Prior to this, Beam Therapeutics secured $87 million in Series A financing on May 14, 2018. Currently, Beam Therapeutics has raised a total of $222 million.

Beam Therapeutics is a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company founded in 2017 by Feng Zhang, a scientist in the field of gene editing. Beam Therapeutics is dedicated to leveraging gene editing technology to perform precise single-base-pair edits in DNA and RNA for the treatment of genetic diseases.

Currently, Beam Therapeutics’ gene-editing technology enables the editing of individual bases in genes—adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T)—allowing for targeted knockouts or insertions within specific genomes without cleaving DNA or RNA strands. This novel gene-editing approach developed by Beam Therapeutics holds promise for the prevention and cure of genetic diseases.

“Since its establishment last year, Beam Therapeutics has made significant progress in the development of novel gene therapies by leveraging gene-editing technology,” said John Evans, CEO of Beam Therapeutics. “We are undertaking 10 initiatives and expanding our team to more than 70 employees. We are delighted to have the support of this group of world-class investors in fulfilling our mission. With this funding, we will continue to grow our team, strengthen our leadership in gene-editing technology, and advance our programs into clinical development, with the aim of helping patients suffering from severe genetic diseases.”

F-Prime Capital is a global venture capital firm headquartered in Massachusetts. Founded in 1946, the firm primarily invests in healthcare and medical technology. As one of the largest asset management companies in the world, it manages over $2 trillion in assets. Over the past four decades, F-Prime Capital has invested in companies with breakthrough achievements in the technology and life sciences sectors, including Atari, MCI, ROLM Corp., Alibaba, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and Ultragenyx.

ARCH Venture Partners is a Chicago-based venture capital firm founded in 1986 that provides seed and early-stage venture financing to technology companies. It primarily invests in companies co-founded by leading scientists and entrepreneurs, focusing on innovation in the life sciences, physical sciences, and information technology sectors. To date, ARCH Venture Partners has raised seven funds, with total assets under management nearing $1.5 billion.

(Compiled by Zhang Yuan)