Kriya Therapeutics raises $100m to further develop gene therapies with ‘broader applications’

US-based biotech company Kriya Therapeutics has raised $100m in Series B financing to further develop its core technology platforms, aiming to advance lower cost gene therapies with broader applications.

Kriya, unlike the majority of gene therapy companies, is developing gene therapies for common diseases such as diabetes, rather than rare diseases.

The funds raised from the latest financing round will be used to further develop Kriya’s ‘core technology platforms’, and also expand the company’s therapeutic pipeline while advancing its current programmes in metabolic disease, ophthalmology and oncology.

The new funding follows a successful Series A financing round in May 2020, when Kriya raised $80.5m.

The funds from that round of financing were used to advanced multiple AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of metabolic disease such as type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and severe obesity.

Among Kryia’s initial pipeline includes an investigational gene therapy that delivers the genes to produce insulin and glucokinase for type 1 and type 2 diabetes – KT-A112 – as well as a gene therapy designed to produce a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist for type 2 diabetes and severe obesity – KT-A522.

The third candidate – KT-A832 – is being investigated for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. This candidate works to deliver the gene to produce modified insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1).

“In recent years we have seen the promise of gene therapy become a reality for the treatment of a number of devastating diseases. However, the field has been constrained by critical limitations in manufacturing technology, vector design capabilities and cost,” said Shankar Ramaswamy, co-founder and chief executive officer of Kriya Therapeutics.

“Kriya was formed with the mission of revolutionising how gene therapies are designed, developed and produced by fully integrating advanced manufacturing technologies, computational tools and development capabilities within a single company. With the support of our new and existing investors, we believe that Kriya is well positioned to deliver transformative improvements in cost, scale and efficiency that will help the gene therapy field achieve its full potential across a range of therapeutic areas,” he added.