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news.Latus Bio, a biotechnology company specialising in new gene therapy candidates for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, has announced its launch alongside an initial $54m Series A financing.
Latus's capsid variants have shown high gene expression in targeted CNS locations. Credit: Arek Socha from Pixabay.
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The financing round is co-led by 8VC and DCVC Bio, with contributions from Samsung Life Science Fund, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation, Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners, Modi Ventures, and Gaingels.
Latus Bio, emerging from the lab of co-founder professor Beverly Davidson at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is utilising proprietary technologies to develop CNS gene therapy candidates.
Latus’s technologies allow screening of novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids in non-human primates. This approach is expected to reduce the high-dose injections that cause off-target toxicity and manufacturing difficulties.
Latus CEO P Peter Ghoroghchian said: “We are excited to introduce Latus and our novel approaches to developing AAV-mediated gene therapies, which we believe have the potential to transform the treatment landscape for genetically-defined CNS disorders.
“With this initial close of our Series A financing, we are poised to accelerate the development of our innovative candidates for CLN2 disease – with first-in-human dosing planned in late 2025 – and for Huntington’s disease, as we seek to address these challenging conditions.”
In preclinical non-human primate models, Latus’s capsid variants have shown high gene expression in targeted CNS locations with minimal off-tissue activity.
This promising data underpins Latus’s strategy to administer low doses of its product candidates in trials, potentially improving safety and manufacturing successfully.
