이 기사는 2022년 04월 01일 08:06 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Samsung Venture Investment has invested about 20 billion won ($16 million) in Jaguar Gene Therapy, a U.S.-based gene therapy development company, through its life science fund launched last year.

Jaguar Gene Therapy, a biotechnology company that develops gene therapy treatments for people suffering from diabetes and other genetic diseases, announced on Tuesday that Samsung Venture Investment and JDRF T1D Fund, a venture philanthropy fund devoted to finding and funding the best cure-oriented therapies for Type 1 diabetes (T1D), have invested in the company.

The latest investment was made from the life science fund that was launched last year jointly by Samsung C&T and Samsung Biologics, each committing 99 billion won and 49.5 billion won.

Jaguar Gene Therapy will use the proceeds of the new investments, together with its existing cash resources, to continue to expand its CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls) capabilities and advance its preclinical pipeline of gene therapy programs.

The American company was established in 2019 by a group of former executives of AveXis, which developed the gene therapy Zolgensma and was acquired by Novartis for $8.7 billion.

Jaguar Gene Therapy is rapidly advancing an initial pipeline of three programs targeting: Type 1 galactosemia; a genetic cause of autism spectrum disorder and Phelan-McDermid syndrome and other severe neurodevelopmental disorders with a SHANK3 mutation or deletion; and Type 1 diabetes.

The company raised $41 million in a Series A funding round in 2019 and $138 million in a Series B funding in 2021. Its existing investors include Eli Lilly and Company, Deerfield Management, ARCH Venture Partners and Goldman Sachs.

“We are impressed by Jaguar’s CMC experience and uncompromising commitment towards the development of the industry leading process development and commercially scalable processes for the manufacture of AAV therapeutics of unparalleled purity, safety and yield,” said Il Seok Yoon, Chief Investment Officer of Samsung Venture Investment.

“The company’s gene therapy approach has the potential to be a functional cure for T1D by restoring endogenous insulin production in patients as a result of a one-time treatment. The Jaguar team’s proven track record, having overseen the development and launch of one of the first FDA-approved gene therapies, makes them expertly positioned to bring this cure-oriented therapy to T1D,” said Katie Ellias, Managing Director, JDRF T1D Fund.

Sean Nolan, former AveXis CEO, serves as executive chairman of Jaguar Gene Therapy. He is also chairman of the board of directors of Affinia Therapeutics and a board member of Encoded Therapeutics, Itsari Oncology, Taysha, and Ventas.

Jaguar Gene Therapy chief executive officer Joe Nolan is a pharma growth leader with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. Before joining the company, Joe Nolan served on the executive team at AveXis during the development and approval of Zolgensma. He also served in executive leadership roles at Lundbeck and Abbott Laboratories. (Reporting by Jeong-yeo Lim)