Mirugen, a preclinical biotechnology startup (re)programming cells to unlock innate cellular repair mechanisms, has announced the successful close of a seed financing round, and the appointment of Charlotte Casebourne Stock as Executive Chair.
To date, Mirugen has raised A$7.1 million, with this A$4.5 million Seed Round building on significant non-dilutive funding awards from CUREator, bringing together a syndicate of investors comprising Brandon Capital, Tin Alley Ventures, and the University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund.
The proceeds from this financing round support the development of Mirugen’s core technology, and its lead Retinitis Pigmentosa programme through translational development.
Charlotte Casebourne Stock, Executive Partner at Yarvie, has an executive track record bringing biologics from concept to clinic, creating companies integrating diverse stakeholders, and with international reach. Most recently she led Oxford, UK based Theolytics from inception into the clinic, raising over $45 million.
A spin-out from the Centre for Eye Research Australia, Mirugen leverages the co-founders’ deep expertise in the fundamental biology of retinal repair for their lead Retinitis Pigmentosa programme.
Co-founder and Medical Director Keith Martin stated, "For the 1.5 million individuals worldwide affected by Retinitis Pigmentosa, severe depletion of the light-sensing cells in the eye - the photoreceptors - is the cause of progressive visual loss. With Mirugen’s lead candidate, we target nascent stem cells in the eye, called Muller glial cells, to replace and regenerate the lost photoreceptors. If successful, we anticipate this approach will also translate to some of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, including Age-related Macular Degeneration and Stargardt’s disease."
