LifeX Ventures leads seed spherical for Swiss startup aiming to make cell and gene therapies extra inexpensive and accessible.
Swiss life science instruments firm Limula has raised $6.8 million in an oversubscribed seed funding spherical to advance the event of its automated cell and gene remedy manufacturing platform. The spherical was led by longevity targeted enterprise capital fund LifeX Ventures, with contributions from Verve Ventures, Zühlke Ventures, Oxford Seed Fund, Lichtsteiner Basis, W.A. de Vigier Basis, and others.
Many longevity biotech corporations are exploring cell and gene remedy approaches as they aim ageing and age-related illnesses, however widespread entry to those future therapeutics is unsure resulting from present manufacturing processes, that are complicated and expensive.
Based by Drs Yann Pierson, Luc Henry, and Thomas Eaton, Limula goals to handle the outdated manufacturing strategies that hinder the widespread adoption of those therapies, which the corporate claims can value upwards of $500,000 per dose because of the want for expert labor and specialised infrastructure.
Henry, Limula’s CEO, stated that the corporate needs to make cell and gene therapies “accessible to the various, not simply the few.”
“Our workforce is pushed by the formidable objective of creating instruments which are based mostly on a essentially novel method of manipulating cells outdoors of the physique,” he stated. “Our know-how helps manufacturing workflows which are inconceivable to automate with current instruments. We consider automation is the one path to scalability and digital traceability.”
Primarily based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the corporate’s platform combines a bioreactor and a centrifuge right into a single closed vessel designed to attenuate switch steps, thereby lowering stress, losses, and potential contamination of cells. The platform is meant to facilitate on-demand and at-scale manufacturing, aiming to decrease the price of cell and gene therapies and enhance their accessibility.
New York-based LifeX has a $100 million fund investing in entrepreneurs utilizing software program and AI to develop options designed to increase the lifetime of people and the planet.
“It’s evident that manufacturing instruments have lagged behind scientific and medical developments, significantly by way of value and scalability,” stated Dr Inaki Berenguer, managing associate at LifeX. “Limula’s dedication to addressing these bottlenecks is essential to enhancing accessibility for sufferers.”
The seed funding will help the continued improvement of Limula’s platform, specializing in assembly good manufacturing follow necessities. The corporate plans to scale its operations from pre-clinical evaluations to medical trials and finally to commercial-scale manufacturing of clinical-grade cell merchandise. To validate its know-how, Limula is collaborating with companions, together with the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Remedy in Milan, a number one heart for cell and gene remedy analysis and medical translation.
