Syncona backs launch of Clade Therapeutics – Syncona was the lead investor in the $87m Series A financing of Clade Therapeutics, a new cell therapy company. Syncona’s commitment was $30m and the first tranche of that – $15.0m – has been invested already. Syncona’s stake in the company is 22.6% (assuming all commitments are invested).
Syncona led the financing round alongside specialist investors including LifeSci Ventures, Emerson Collective, and global biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers-Squibb.
Clade has been established with the aim of discovering and delivering scalable next generation induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived medicines. It is led by Dr. Chad Cowan, Chief Executive Officer at Clade, scientific co-founder of CRISPR Therapeutics and former Associate Professor at Harvard University in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, and Dr. Jim Glasheen, Chief Business Officer at Clade, co-founder of Atlanta Therapeutics and former general partner at Technology Partners Venture Capital. The company’s proprietary platform technology enables the immune ‘cloaking’ of human pluripotent stem cells, meaning that cells are protected from the body’s immune system, potentially enabling long-term persistence and allowing for the development of allogeneic cell transplantation therapies.
The Syncona team will work closely with Clade as it builds out its operations. Chief executive officer, Martin Murphy, will join the board, and Syncona partner, Freddie Dear will act as a board observer. Clade is Syncona’s 12th company in its current portfolio and sixth in the cell therapy space.
SYNC : Syncona backs launch of Clade Therapeutics