New DMD Therapeutics Developer Raises $42.5M in Venture Capital Financing

Solid GT, LLC, announced that it has received has $42.5 million in Series B venture capital financing, which will be used to further the develop the company’s novel gene therapy platform for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

“We are proud of this pivotal milestone for Solid GT and our partnership with such leaders of industry,” Ilan Ganot, Solid GT’s CEO, said in a news release. “Our mission is to use gene therapy to dramatically improve patients’ lives and, one day, cure DMD. Our team’s connection with patients, my son Eytani among them, and their communities, provides a daily reminder and constant sense of purpose as we work to eradicate this devastating disease. Our talent science, partnerships and capital will enable us to bring gene therapy to DMD patients with professionalism, compassion and speed.”

The first closing Series B financing round was led by Perceptive Advisors, LLC, and Biogen Inc., together with funds managed by Janus Capital Management and other private investors.

As part of the transaction, Perceptive Advisors’ Adam Stone and Biogen’s Lynne Sullivan will join Solid GT’s board of directors. “We are supporting Solid GT’s efforts to bring a potential disease modifying therapy into the clinic because we believe Solid GT can leverage the profound advances that have been made in the gene therapy field to quickly advance a disruptive therapy into the DMD treatment landscape,” said Mr. Stone, the CIO of Perceptive Advisors.

“Our mission is to identify and advance gene therapies that may bring hope to patients with diseases that have little or no treatment & options,” added Olivier Danos, PhD, senior vice president at Biogen’s Cell Gene Therapy. “We are pleased to invest in Solid GT’s novel gene therapy platform and support the quest to discover and develop medicines that could transform DMD.”

Solid GT, a subsidiary of Solid Biosciences, was founded in 2014 as a gene therapy platform with a focus on the development of novel, disease-modifying therapeutics for DMD. The company’s licensed technology has shown efficacy in several DMD animal models and its lead candidates are currently engaged in IND-enabling studies. Solid GT works in collaboration with leading patient organizations, medical experts, faculties and university institutions, hospitals, and gene therapy centers around the world.

A Series B financing round is generally an indication that a company has accomplished certain milestones in developing its business.