The start-up is built around four business units – technology, manufacturing, R&D and therapeutics – based on internal and external expertise. Kriya will take its first gene therapies into the clinic in 2023. 

Private Company Edition: Westlake Village BioPartners-founded Neuron23 will take the LRRK2 inhibitor NEU-723 for Parkinson’s disease into human testing before the end of 2022. Also, Celsius raised $83m in fresh VC cash and ITM added another €33m to its recent €25m equity financing.

A new national project to support bioventures and the venture capital funds investing in them has started in Japan. The strategic aim of the JPY50bn initiative is to enhance the speed of development and trials of new drugs and vaccines for infectious diseases, the lack of which became obvious since the breakout of COVID-19. 

Private Company Edition: NVCA and Pitchbook data show pharma and biotech companies raised $37.8bn in venture capital in 2021, up 41% from the record $26.8bn total in 2020. Recent mega-rounds include $190m for Maze and $200m for Alumis, and Sound Bioventures raised a €110m fund.