Amber Bio raises $26m to advance first-of-its-kind RNA editing platform

Amber Bio, a trailblazing biotechnology company, has launched with an oversubscribed $26 million seed financing round to pioneer multi-kilobase gene editing platforms. This innovative approach aims to target previously undruggable diseases. The investment round was co-led by early-stage venture capital firm Playground Global and Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health, with participation from industry leaders such as Eli Lilly, RDF (Retinal Degeneration Fund), Hummingbird Ventures, and Pillar VC.

Funding to Advance RNA Editing Platform

The seed funding will be directed towards the development of a first-of-its-kind RNA editing platform that enables multi-kilobase edits. This technological advancement allows a single drug to treat diseases with high allelic diversity and holds significant potential for patients suffering from diseases caused by diverse mutations. Amber Bio is uniquely positioning itself by developing its genetic medicine programs in-house.

Leadership with a Strong Track Record

The company’s co-founder and CTO, Basem Al-Shayeb, Ph.D., has been advised by Nobel Laureate Dr. Jennifer Doudna and has an impressive portfolio, including 19 pending and issued patents on gene editing. Alongside him, co-founder and CEO Jacob Borrajo brings his expertise from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, adding value to Amber Bio’s pioneering efforts in the biotech space.

“The development of programmable systems such as CRISPR-Cas for gene correction has driven a major biotechnological revolution in the past decade. But there are over five thousand genetic disorders, many of which are caused by hundreds to thousands of mutations – or different kinds of ‘typos’ – in genes, leading to disease. Current gene editing technologies rely on creating solutions on a per-mutation basis, but treating one mutation at a time is not scalable across a patient population which can be highly diverse in the US and globally,” said Dr. Al-Shayeb.

“Amber Bio is pioneering new gene editing methods that will vastly expand the range of treatable diseases and reach previously undruggable patient populations,” said Jory Bell, General Partner at Playground Global.

Amber Bio Co-Founders Jacob Borrajo, CEO and Basem Al-Shayeb, CTO. Photo courtesy of Business Wire.

A New Direction in Biotechnology

Amber Bio is embarking on a novel path in biotechnology by using multi-kilobase RNA writing to reach previously undruggable diseases. Their unique RNA editing platform aims to correct genetic mutations in a safe and reversible manner, promising a new era in genetic medicine.