SNIPR Biome Obtains $50M for its CRISPR and Microbiome Converging Venture

By Rajaneesh K Gopinath, Ph.D.

Proclaimed to have raised one of the biggest series A fundings in Europe, the Danish company aims to develop CRISPR-based microbiome drugs and advance it to clinical trials in humans by 2021.

The discoveries of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and human microbiome have been regarded as key scientific breakthroughs of our time. SNIPR Biome, a biotech startup based in Copenhagen, Denmark strives to extract the wealth of both assets for the production of disease combating drugs. The company uses a novel CRISPR/Cas platform that specifically targets and kills certain bacteria leaving the rest of the microbiome unharmed. They describe their drugs as next-generation antibiotics harboring DNA-based CRISPR-Guided Vectors™ (CGV™ Technology) that cause double-stranded breaks in bacterial genomes and kills them in a matter of minutes.

Investor details

Incorporated in 2017 as a discovery stage biotech company, SNIPR Biome’s vision was to become the leading microbiome company. This was acknowledged by Lundbeckfonden Emerge, an investment unit of Lundbeck foundation who acted as its seed investor. Satisfied with the successful maturation of the startup’s technology, it has now decided to lead the series A funding of 50 million US dollars along with other investors such as LSP (Amsterdam), North-East Family Office (Copenhagen) and Wellington Partners (Munich). Considered a record investment, the funding will be used for further development of the company’s pioneering CRISPR technology platform and its first clinical programs.

Dr. Christian Grøndahl, the Co-founder and CEO of SNIPR Biome was thrilled with the news and outlined the plans for the future. “We have the potential to develop valuable therapeutics within multiple important disease areas. We will focus initially on precision medicines for difficult-to-treat infections and precision microbiome modulation in auto-immunity and cancer. We are utilizing the bacteria’s CRISPR/Cas immune system to selectively kill target bacteria based on specific DNA fingerprints” he said. “We are thrilled to have obtained this massive and transformational funding and backing from absolute leading European VCs and investors in Lundbeckfonden Emerge, Life Science Partners, North-East Family Office, and Wellington Partners.” he added.

References

1. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/snipr-raises-50m-to-use-crispr-to-modulate-microbiome
2. https://www.sniprbiome.com/
3. https://endpts.com/lundbeck-fund-backs-a-50m-launch-round-for-snipr-biome-a-new-brand-of-crispr-cas-biotech/

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Author

Rajaneesh K. Gopinath