PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Latus Bio, Inc. (“Latus”), a biotechnology company developing novel gene therapy candidates for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), today announced its launch and an initial close of $54 million in Series A financing. The funding round is being led by 8VC and DCVC Bio.

费城--（商业新闻短讯）--Latus Bio，Inc.（“Latus”）是一家开发中枢神经系统疾病新型基因治疗候选药物的生物技术公司，今天宣布推出该产品，并在a系列融资中首次关闭5400万美元。这轮融资由8VC和DCVC Bio牵头。

To date, Samsung Life Science Fund (created by Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, Samsung Bioepis and Samsung Venture Investment Corporation), The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation, Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners, Modi Ventures, and Gaingels have joined as syndicate partners..

迄今为止，三星生命科学基金（由三星C＆T、三星生物制品、三星生物科技和三星风险投资公司创建）、费城基金会儿童医院、本杰明·富兰克林技术合作伙伴、莫迪风险投资和盖恩格尔已加入为辛迪加合作伙伴。

Originating from the lab of co-founder Professor Beverly Davidson at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Latus is developing CNS gene therapy candidates, using proprietary technologies that have been used to identify and engineer novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid variants with the aim of showing unprecedented potency, specificity, and safety..

Latus来自费城儿童医院（CHOP）联合创始人贝弗利·戴维森教授的实验室，目前正在开发中枢神经系统基因治疗候选药物，使用专有技术来鉴定和设计新型腺相关病毒（AAV）衣壳变体，目的是显示前所未有的效力，特异性和安全性。

AAV-mediated gene therapy has long held promise for the treatment of genetically-defined CNS disorders; but, until now, it has been limited by its inability to transduce specific CNS substructures and cell types with requisite specificity. These limitations have led to the reliance on high-dose injections that cause off-target toxicity and difficulties in scalable manufacturing.

AAV介导的基因疗法长期以来有望治疗遗传定义的中枢神经系统疾病；但是，到目前为止，它一直受到其无法以必需的特异性转导特定CNS亚结构和细胞类型的限制。这些限制导致依赖高剂量注射，导致脱靶毒性和可扩展制造困难。

Latus’s proprietary technologies aim to directly address these challenges by enabling massively paralleled and unbiased screening of novel AAV capsids directly in non-human primates (“NHP”). In these preclinical NHP models, Latus’s capsid variants demonstrated high gene expression in precise CNS locations with target cell specificity and minimal-to-no off-tissue activity.

Latus的专有技术旨在通过直接在非人灵长类动物（“NHP”）中大规模并行和无偏见地筛选新型AAV衣壳来直接应对这些挑战。在这些临床前NHP模型中，Latus的衣壳变体在精确的中枢神经系统位置表现出高基因表达，具有靶细胞特异性，并且具有最小或无组织外活性。

Based on these preclinical data, Latus plans to administer low doses of its product candidates in clinical studies, with the goal of improving safety and enabling successful manufacturing..

根据这些临床前数据，Latus计划在临床研究中服用低剂量的候选产品，目的是提高安全性并成功制造。

'We are excited to introduce Latus and our novel approaches to developing AAV-mediated gene therapies, which we believe have the potential to transform the treatment landscape for genetically-defined CNS disorders,” said P. Peter Ghoroghchian, CEO of Latus. 'With this initial close of our Series A financing, we are poised to accelerate the development of our innovative candidates for CLN2 disease - with first-in-human dosing planned in late 2025 - and for Huntington’s disease, as we seek to address these challenging conditions.'.

Latus首席执行官P.Peter Ghoroghchian说：“我们很高兴引入Latus和我们开发AAV介导的基因疗法的新方法，我们相信这些方法有可能改变基因定义的中枢神经系统疾病的治疗格局。”随着我们A系列融资的初步结束，我们准备加速开发CLN2疾病的创新候选药物-计划在2025年底进行首次人体给药-以及亨廷顿舞蹈病，因为我们寻求解决这些具有挑战性的条件。”

The Company’s management team is composed of experienced and respected leaders in gene therapy and neuroscience. Led by CEO P. Peter Ghoroghchian, a physician-scientist and serial biotechnology entrepreneur, the team brings a wealth of experience in advancing innovative therapies from platform identification to preclinical discovery and through successful clinical development.

该公司的管理团队由基因治疗和神经科学领域经验丰富且备受尊敬的领导者组成。该团队由首席执行官彼得·戈罗奇安（P.Peter Ghoroghchian）领导，他是一名内科医生兼系列生物技术企业家，在推动创新疗法从平台识别到临床前发现以及通过成功的临床开发方面拥有丰富的经验。

Latus co-founder Professor Beverly Davidson and Latus Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Jang-Ho Cha are recent recipients of the 2023 Hereditary Disease Foundation's Transformative Research Award in recognition of their innovative approach to advancing Huntington’s disease research. The award is designed to move the most innovative work in Huntington’s disease from concept to practice by funding collaborative research teams who are focused on creating new disease-modifying treatments and transformational new insights to the Huntington’s disease research field; the 2023 Transformative Research Awards were the largest grants ever awarded by the Hereditary Disease Foundation..

Latus联合创始人贝弗利·戴维森教授和Latus首席科学官张浩查博士最近获得了2023年遗传病基金会的变革性研究奖，以表彰他们推进亨廷顿舞蹈病研究的创新方法。该奖项旨在通过资助合作研究团队，将亨廷顿舞蹈病最具创新性的工作从概念转变为实践，这些团队专注于创造新的疾病缓解治疗方法，并为亨廷顿舞蹈病研究领域提供变革性的新见解；2023年的变革性研究奖是遗传病基金会有史以来授予的最大一笔赠款。

Francisco Gimenez, Partner at 8VC, commented, 'We are proud to help Dr. Davidson translate her incredible work at CHOP into Latus. It is so exciting to see the Davidson Lab’s deep insights in AAV therapies coupled with a dream team of drug developers. Empowering this science, team, and mission is the kind of work that makes you so grateful to be an investor.”.

8VC的合伙人弗朗西斯科·吉梅内斯（FranciscoGimenez）评论道：“我们很荣幸能帮助戴维森博士将她在CHOP的出色工作翻译成Latus。看到戴维森实验室对AAV疗法的深刻见解以及药物开发人员的梦幻团队，真是令人兴奋。赋予这门科学、团队和使命以力量，是一种让你非常感激成为投资者的工作。”

Kiersten Stead, Managing Partner at DCVC Bio, said, “The team at Latus has aggregated an immense pool of technology and know-how that we believe could lead them to overcome limitations that have been plaguing the modality—specifically the interconnectedness between therapy manufacturing, specificity, and therapeutic window.”.

DCVC Bio的管理合伙人基尔斯滕·斯特德（KierstenStead）表示：“拉图斯的团队汇集了大量的技术和诀窍，我们认为这些技术和诀窍可以帮助他们克服困扰这种模式的局限性，特别是治疗制造，特异性和治疗窗口之间的相互联系。”

Latus is attending this year's American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 27th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD, May 7 – 11, 2024; Latus co-founder Professor Beverly Davidson will be a conference keynote speaker. Her address will showcase the Company's progress and the vast potential of its technology to solve unmet needs in CNS gene therapy..

拉图斯将出席2024年5月7日至11日在马里兰州巴尔的摩举行的今年的美国基因与细胞治疗学会（ASGCT）第27届年会；Latus联合创始人贝弗利·戴维森教授将担任会议主旨发言人。她的演讲将展示该公司的进步及其技术在解决中枢神经系统基因治疗未满足需求方面的巨大潜力。

Latus Management Team

Latus管理团队

Peter Ghoroghchian, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer

Peter Ghoroghchian，医学博士，博士，首席执行官

Dr. P. Peter Ghoroghchian is an American physician-scientist, bioengineer and serial biotechnology entrepreneur. Prior to his current position as CEO of Latus, he most recently served as co-founder, President and CEO of Ceptur Therapeutics. He was previously Senior Vice President and Head of Therapeutic Development at Repertoire Immune Medicines, Chief Technology Officer at Poseida Therapeutics, as well as co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Vindico NanoBioTechnology.

P.Peter Ghoroghchian博士是美国医学科学家、生物工程师和系列生物技术企业家。在担任Latus首席执行官之前，他最近担任Ceptur Therapeutics的联合创始人、总裁兼首席执行官。他曾任免疫药物高级副总裁兼治疗开发主管，波塞达治疗公司首席技术官，以及Vindico NanoBioTechnology联合创始人兼首席科学官。

Earlier in his career, Dr. Ghoroghchian was an attending physician in the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and ran an independent research laboratory as the Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Clinical Investigator in the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT..

在职业生涯的早期，戈罗奇安博士曾是达纳法伯癌症研究所苏珊·史密斯女性癌症中心的主治医师，并在麻省理工学院科赫综合癌症研究所担任查尔斯·W.和詹妮弗·约翰逊临床研究员，管理着一个独立的研究实验室。

Jang-Ho Cha, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer

Jang Ho Cha，医学博士，首席科学和医学官

Jang-Ho Cha, MD, PhD, is a neurologist and neuroscientist who has dedicated his career to the study and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Prior to Latus, Dr. Cha held leadership positions at the Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research, where he headed Translational Medicine for Neuroscience, as well as at Merck.

张浩查（Jang Ho Cha）是一名神经科医生和神经科学家，他的职业生涯致力于神经退行性疾病的研究和治疗。在加入Latus之前，Cha博士曾在诺华生物医学研究所担任领导职务，负责神经科学转化医学以及默克公司。

He has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hereditary Disease Foundation, as the Chairman of the Board of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America and was part of the team that helped discover the HTT gene for Huntington’s Disease. Dr. Cha also had a long academic career at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where he treated patients with neurologic disorders and ran an independent research laboratory focused on the molecular mechanisms of Huntington’s disease..

他曾担任遗传病基金会科学顾问委员会成员、美国亨廷顿舞蹈症协会董事会主席，也是帮助发现亨廷顿舞蹈症HTT基因团队的一员。Cha博士还在马萨诸塞州总医院和哈佛医学院拥有长期的学术生涯，他在那里治疗神经系统疾病患者，并管理一个独立的研究实验室，专注于亨廷顿舞蹈病的分子机制。

John Connelly, Chief Development Officer

首席开发官约翰·康奈利

John Connelly is a seasoned biotechnology executive who has led drug development teams in advancing therapeutics from discovery and into the clinic. Prior to Latus, Mr. Connelly was SVP, Portfolio Strategy and R&D Operations, at Akouos, leading the development of a novel device that enables delivery of AAV candidates directly into the cochlea for the treatment of genetic hearing loss.

约翰·康奈利（JohnConnelly）是一位经验丰富的生物技术高管，曾领导药物开发团队将治疗方法从发现推进到临床。在加入Latus之前，Connelly先生是Akouos的投资组合战略和研发运营高级副总裁，领导开发了一种新型设备，可以将AAV候选物直接输送到耳蜗中，用于治疗遗传性听力损失。

Prior to Akouos, Mr. Connelly held the position of VP, Program and Alliance Management, at Voyager Therapeutics and co-led Voyager’s clinical program in Parkinson’s. Mr. Connelly started his career at the Genzyme Corporation, where he held many positions in Program Management, culminating in heading the Program Management function for Rare Diseases..

在加入Akouos之前，Connelly先生曾担任Voyager Therapeutics的项目和联盟管理副总裁，并共同领导了Voyager帕金森氏症的临床项目。康奈利先生在Genzyme公司开始了他的职业生涯，在那里他担任了许多项目管理职位，最终领导了罕见疾病的项目管理职能。

About Latus

关于Latus

Latus is a patient-centric and product-oriented gene therapy company founded by members of the academic lab of Professor Beverly Davidson - Chief Scientific Strategy Officer of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and co-founder of Spark Therapeutics. Its proprietary AAV capsids have been identified by screening tens of millions of novel variants directly in non-human primates (NHPs), using optimized routes for clinical administration.

Latus是一家以患者为中心、以产品为导向的基因治疗公司，由费城儿童医院首席科学战略官兼Spark Therapeutics联合创始人贝弗利·戴维森教授学术实验室成员创立。通过使用优化的临床给药途径，直接在非人灵长类动物（NHP）中筛选数以千万计的新型变体，已经鉴定出其专有的AAV衣壳。

In preclinical NHP studies, Latus’s product candidates exhibited high gene expression in precise locations in the central nervous system (CNS) with cellular specificity and minimal off-tissue activity. As a result, Latus plans to administer low doses of its product candidates, with the goal of improving clinical safety and enabling successful manufacturing.

在临床前NHP研究中，Latus的候选产品在中枢神经系统（CNS）的精确位置表现出高基因表达，具有细胞特异性和最小的组织外活性。因此，Latus计划服用低剂量的候选产品，目的是提高临床安全性并成功制造。

Latus has three development candidates and plans to enter the clinic with its first gene therapy product candidate in 2025. Latus is advancing a robust pipeline of product candidates in development for both rare and common CNS diseases..

Latus有三个候选开发产品，计划在2025年推出其第一个候选基因治疗产品。Latus正在为罕见和常见的中枢神经系统疾病开发一系列强大的候选产品。

Latus is based in Philadelphia, PA and will be opening a second site in the Seaport of Boston, MA on June 1st, 2024. For more information about Latus and its innovative gene therapy development technologies, visit www.latusbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Latus总部位于宾夕法尼亚州费城，将于2024年6月1日在马萨诸塞州波士顿海港开设第二家工厂。有关Latus及其创新基因治疗开发技术的更多信息，请访问www.latusbio.com并关注我们的LinkedIn。