Ring Therapeutics is turning to a previously unexplored family of viruses to improve the safety and efficacy of gene therapy. The preclinical science suggests using these anelloviruses as vectors can deliver payloads precisely and without causing a significant immune response. Human trials will need to demonstrate the technology can live up to its disruptive potential.

Private Company Edition: After just seven venture capital rounds of $100m or more in January and February, five have been announced already in March, including a $200m series A round for Cargo Therapeutics, Chroma Medicine’s $135m series B financing and $112m for Noema’s series B.

Private Company Edition: The latest $100m-plus VC financings include $112.5m for PepGen, Deep Genomics’ $180m series C round and a $166m series D for Rakuten Medical. Also, Lumira Ventures raised a $220m fourth fund and will manage a separate $35m fund backed by Angelini Pharma.