Epigenetic editing startup Chroma Medicine is merging with Nvelop Therapeutics in a deal that will also bring in $75 million in funding to develop in vivo genetic medicines, the two companies announced Wednesday.

这两家公司周三宣布，表观遗传编辑初创公司Chroma Medicine将与Nvelop Therapeutics合并，这笔交易还将为开发体内遗传药物带来7500万美元的资金。

The combination will bring together technologies the companies describe as complementary: epigenetic editors from Chroma and non-viral particles from Nvelop capable of delivering those editors into the body. The new firm, dubbed nChroma Bio, will be led by Nvelop’s CEO Jeff Walsh.

这一组合将汇集两家公司描述为互补的技术：Chroma的表观遗传编辑和Nvelop的非病毒颗粒，能够将这些编辑传递到体内。这家名为Nchoma Bio的新公司将由Nvelop首席执行官杰夫·沃尔什领导。

Conversations about merging Chroma and Nvelop began in earnest a few months ago, at a dinner in late September between Walsh and Chroma CEO Catherine Stehman-Breen.

几个月前，沃尔什（Walsh）和Chroma首席执行官凯瑟琳·斯特曼·布林（CatherineStehmanBreen）在9月底的一次晚宴上正式开始了关于合并Chroma和Nvelop的对话。

“We periodically get together to talk about the joys and challenges of building a next-gen genomics company,” said Walsh. “The topic of bringing together a cargo and delivery company came up and, as the dinner went on, we gained more and more conviction that it made sense for use to explore a combination.”.

沃尔什说：“我们定期聚会，讨论建立下一代基因组公司的乐趣和挑战。”。“关于组建一家货运公司的话题出现了，随着晚宴的进行，我们越来越相信，探索一种组合是有意义的。”。

The companies already had several investors in common, including Arch Venture Partners, Atlas Venture and GV. Both were founded by the gene therapy pioneers David Liu and Keith Joung, among others.

这两家公司已有多名共同投资者，包括Arch Venture Partners、Atlas Venture和GV。。

Jeff Walsh

杰夫·沃尔什

Permission granted by NChroma Bio

NChroma Bio授予的许可

“It's a combination of common vision, the complementary aspects of the companies and the commonality of people that really drove an accelerated discussion and ultimately culminated in the deal,” said Walsh.

沃尔什说：“这是共同愿景、公司的互补性以及人们的共同性的结合，真正推动了讨论的加速，并最终达成了协议。”。

The merger marks a rapid evolution for Nvelop, which emerged from stealth in April with $100 million to advance research from the laboratories of Liu and Joung. And it’s a change in course for Chroma, which laid off an undisclosed number of people in May, less than a year after raising $135 million in early 2023..

此次合并标志着Nvelop的快速发展，Nvelop于4月份以一亿美元的资金从隐形技术中脱颖而出，用于推进刘和荣实验室的研究。这是Chroma的一个转变，该公司在2023年初筹集了1.35亿美元资金，不到一年的时间里，于5月份解雇了人数不详的员工。。

In an email response to BioPharma Dive’s questions, Walsh said there would be some reduction in the combined headcount of the two companies as a “necessary step” to “streamline operations and position nChroma for long-term success.”

沃尔什在回复BioPharma Dive提出的问题的电子邮件中表示，两家公司的总人数将有所减少，这是“简化运营并为nChroma的长期成功定位”的“必要步骤”

NChroma plans to continue studying Chroma’s lead drug program, CRMA-1001, which is meant to be a “functional cure” for chronic hepatitis B and D. The company expects to begin a clinical trial in 2025, with early data to come as soon as 2026, said Jenny Marlowe, nChroma’s chief development officer.

NChroma计划继续研究Chroma的主要药物计划CRMA-1001，该计划旨在为慢性乙型肝炎和丁型肝炎提供“功能性治疗”。NChroma首席开发官詹妮·马洛（JennyMarlowe）表示，该公司预计将于2025年开始临床试验，最早将于2026年提供早期数据。

Chroma designed CRMA-1001 to change gene expression in the liver by using epigenetic editing. Unlike gene editing tools such as CRISPR, epigenetic editing focuses on the proteins and chemicals that can turn genes “on” or “off.” Chroma, as well as several other biotechs, have been advancing the technology as a genetic medicine alternative that doesn’t require changing DNA directly, which may trigger unwanted side effects..

Chroma设计了CRMA-1001，通过表观遗传编辑改变肝脏中的基因表达。与CRISPR等基因编辑工具不同，表观遗传编辑专注于可以“打开”或“关闭”基因的蛋白质和化学物质。Chroma以及其他几种生物技术一直在推进这项技术，作为一种遗传医学替代品，不需要直接改变DNA，这可能会引发不必要的副作用。。

Jenny Marlowe

Permission granted by NChroma Bio

NChroma Bio授予的许可

“With epigenetic editing, we can effectively silence the expression of all viral antigens from hepatitis B without actually cutting the DNA, which is likely to be a challenge from a safety perspective,” said Marlowe.

马洛说：“通过表观遗传编辑，我们可以有效地沉默乙型肝炎所有病毒抗原的表达，而不需要实际切割DNA，从安全角度来看，这可能是一个挑战。”。

While CRMA-1001 targets the liver, nChroma hopes to take aim at other tissues using Nvelop’s tools — a goal that’s proved challenging to many developers of other gene therapy technologies.

虽然CRMA-1001靶向肝脏，但nChroma希望使用Nvelop的工具瞄准其他组织-这一目标对许多其他基因治疗技术的开发人员来说具有挑战性。

The $75 million in new funds should help nChroma identify multiple product candidates over the next several years, Marlowe and Walsh said. And it’s that “engine” they think may prove attractive to potential partners across the industry.

马洛和沃尔什说，7500万美元的新基金将有助于nChroma在未来几年内确定多种候选产品。他们认为，正是这种“引擎”可能对整个行业的潜在合作伙伴具有吸引力。

“With the tools and technologies that now are under one roof, we do have real opportunity to expand the reach of what we could do just ourselves,” said Walsh. “We think this is going to be a catalyst for future partnerships going forward.”

沃尔什说：“有了现在处于同一屋檐下的工具和技术，我们确实有机会扩大我们自己可以做的事情的范围。”。“我们认为这将成为未来合作伙伴关系的催化剂。”

NChroma’s funding came from 19 venture firms, an expansive syndicate that included many of the same firms that previously invested in Chroma or in Nvelop. Cormorant Asset Management, Arch, Atlas and Newpath Partners led the round.

NChroma的资金来自19家风险投资公司，这是一个庞大的财团，其中包括许多以前投资Chroma或Nvelop的公司。Cormorant Asset Management、Arch、Atlas和Newpath Partners领跑了这一轮。

“This has been a more challenging market, in general for biotech but then specifically for the genetic medicine space,” said Jeff Marrazzo, the former CEO of Spark Therapeutics who served on the boards of both Chroma and Nvelop. “I think people understand there's complexity and challenges that need to be overcome with both delivery as well as in the unique set of cargoes that can be applied in different diseases.”.

曾在Chroma和Nvelop董事会任职的Spark Therapeutics前首席执行官杰夫·马拉佐（Jeff Marrazzo）表示：“这是一个更具挑战性的市场，一般来说，对于生物技术而言，但对于基因医学领域来说，这是一个更具挑战性的市场。”。“我认为人们理解交付以及可用于不同疾病的独特货物都需要克服复杂性和挑战。”。

Investment in cell and gene therapy makers has stuttered in recent years as some of those challenges have become more apparent. So far this year, more than $1.3 billion has been invested in cell and gene therapy companies by 23 venture firms tracked by BioPharma Dive, compared to $1.8 billion in both of the two years prior..

近年来，随着其中一些挑战变得更加明显，对细胞和基因治疗制造商的投资结巴。今年迄今为止，BioPharma Dive跟踪的23家风险投资公司已向细胞和基因治疗公司投资了13多亿美元，而前两年的投资额均为18亿美元。。

Marrazzo will chair nChroma’s board, while executives from both companies will fill out the new firm’s leadership. Stehman-Breen will serve as an adviser.

Marrazzo将担任nChroma董事会主席，两家公司的高管将担任新公司的领导。斯特曼·布林将担任顾问。