Envisagenics Secures $25 Million Series B Funding to Advance RNA Splicing Therapeutics

Envisagenics, an AI-enabled biotechnology firm specializing in RNA splicing therapeutics, has announced the completion of its Series B funding round. This round included investments from existing supporters Third Kind Venture Capital, Empire State Development, and Red Cell Partners, as well as new strategic investor Bristol Myers Squibb, which has been collaborating with Envisagenics on oncology research since 2022.

The funds from this latest financing will support the advancement of Envisagenics' preclinical oncology pipeline using its proprietary cloud-based AI drug discovery platform, SpliceCore. This platform combines machine learning algorithms with high-performance computing to detect novel and disease-specific alternative splicing isoforms, leveraging a database containing over 14 million RNA splicing events.

Alternative splicing, occurring in over 95% of human genes, produces multiple RNA isoforms from a single gene, offering critical insights into more than 370 diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. SpliceCore aims to expand the transcriptomic search space, aiding in the identification of disease-specific targets and supporting the design and development of RNA-based therapeutics.

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Envisagenics had previously raised Series A funding in September 2021, which facilitated the initial scaling and commercialization of SpliceCore. Since then, the company has established collaborations with notable partners, including Biogen and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson, along with Bristol Myers Squibb.

Dr. Maria Luisa Pineda, co-founder and CEO of Envisagenics, emphasized the company's commitment to developing products and assets aimed at improving patient outcomes:

“Funding from this round will primarily be used to drive our developmental pipeline, including immunotherapies for multiple indications in oncology and disease-modifying ASOs for neurodegenerative diseases, with the goal of advancing our first asset into the clinic. Along with the continued support of our existing investors, we’re very pleased to welcome Bristol Myers Squibb as a new investor.”

Topics: Novel Therapeutics