Tune Therapeutics has raised US$175m in financing that will go toward advancing its epigenome editing clinical programme.
The funding will accelerate the development of the company’s existing pipeline, currently anchored by Tune-401 – its clinical-stage epigenetic silencing drug for chronic Hepatitis B (HBV).
It will also support the development of additional gene, cell, and regenerative therapy programmes already underway at Tune, and to progress its broader mission of bringing the power and versatility of epigenetic therapies to bear on common and chronic diseases.
“It is deeply gratifying to have seen this platform and company evolve so far,” said Tune Co-Founder Dr. Charles Gersbach, whose research at Duke University formed the basis for Tune’s TEMPO epi-editing platform.
“Tune has already achieved a global landmark in the field, in the clinical application of epi-editing to a common and chronic disease. Thanks to the support of our investors, we anticipate the development of many more new epi-editing therapies in the years to come.”
“We are incredibly proud to see Tune progress successfully into the clinic,” said Reed Jobs, founder and investor at Yosemite.
“The Yosemite team has been an enthusiastic backer of Tune from the beginning, as we feel that few technologies have the biological power of epigenetic medicine to transform disease outcomes for the better.
“The range of potential applications and indications is vast and will only continue to expand.”
“To date, modern medicine and pharmacology has done much to extend our lifespans, but far less for our active healthspans,” explains William Greene, chief investment officer at Hevolution Foundation.
“Chronic diseases of ageing are accelerating in incidence, prevalence, and severity, and current approaches are simply inadequate. It is our belief that epigenetic editing may prove to be the transformative modality we need to enable a new era of regenerative medicine.”
Since its founding in 2021, Tune has made impressive strides in the development and application of its novel and potentially transformative epigenome editing platform.
At the 2023 ASGCT conference, Tune announced the durable repression of a therapeutically relevant gene (PCSK9) in non-human primates using genetic tuning.
This gene repression was accompanied by an enduring reduction of LDL cholesterol levels that is still ongoing almost two years after a single, transient delivery of the epi-silencing construct.
“With this renewed support, we are well-positioned to advance our HBV clinical program, to invest in our platform, and to expand our pipeline,” said Akira Matsuno, co-founder, president and CFO of Tune Therapeutics.
“We are grateful to all our investors for their deep confidence in our team and approach, backed by compelling data that continues to underscore the transformational potential of epi-editing as a therapeutic modality.”
