Synthorx Raises $10 Million in Series B to Expand the Genetic Code, Innovate New Products

Health & Medicine
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July 27, 2016

Synthorx has completed a $10 million Series B fundraising round that will enable the company to further develop its synthetic DNA technology platform.The company’s second fundraising round was led by RA Capital Management. Synthorx conducted a Series A round in 2014 and brought in $6 million from Avalon Ventures and Correlation Ventures, both of whom tagged along for this most recent successive round.Synthorx’s Series B will allow the company to double the size of its current team and provide significant runway for the company’s product development goals related to their synthetic nucleotide technology.

Who is Synthorx?

Founded in 2014, Synthorx is a synthetic biology company that is working on expanding the genetic code as we know it. Synthorx’s technology is based on research conducted at the Scripps Research Institute by Dr. Floyd Romesberg. Over the course of several years, Dr. Romesberg’s team designed and constructed two novel DNA bases—that is, two new, non-naturally occurring letters of the genetic code—that are able to be replicated in vivo, just like the four naturally occurring bases.Just as binary computer code is composed of two digits (0 and 1) that can spell out large amounts of information when strung together, naturally-occurring DNA is composed of four distinct letters (known as bases) that are typically denoted by A, T, G, and C. Synthorx is expanding upon this set of letters by incorporating their own original synthetic bases, known as X and Y, into the mix.Synthorx’s technology does not represent the first time that scientists have designed synthetic DNA letters. What it does represent is the first instance wherein scientists have designed synthetic DNA letters that behave just like the natural DNA letters in a very important way: X and Y are capable of being handled by a cell’s replication machinery. Cells containing DNA that is built from Synthorx’s expanded alphabet can replicate that DNA and pass it on to their daughter cells when they divide and proliferate.This unprecedented discovery of hereditary synthetic DNA opens up a world of possibilities that have never before been accessible in the growing field of synthetic biology.

Naturally occurring DNA is composed of four different bases or letters. Synthorx is adding two new letters into that alphabet for a total of six information-coding bases.

Naturally occurring DNA is composed of four different bases or letters. Synthorx is adding two new letters into that alphabet for a total of six information-coding bases.

The power of two more letters

Having six letters of genetic code to work with instead of four is enormously powerful in terms of information storage. Imagine that the English alphabet had 50% more letters—39 instead of 26. This alphabet would allow for many new combinations of letters to be strung together and for many never-before-seen words to be formed.In terms of the genetic alphabet, a greater number of DNA letters can allow for a significantly more diverse variety of previously unrealized biological products to be encoded. Synthorx’s goal is to restructure the genetic code such that X and Y provide the cell with instructions on how to use non-natural and/or synthetic amino acids when creating proteins.Such a capability would allow scientists to have an unprecedented level of control when creating antibodies, proteins, and other therapeutic biological molecules. These molecules could be designed with specific biochemical properties that have been previously unachievable, thereby unlocking treatments for thus far untreatable diseases.Synthorx intends to leverage its enhanced genetic code in this way to develop a number of solutions in the realm of medicine and biotech tools. Some of its broad goals include drug development, vaccine development, and generation of other novel products. Synthorx’s CEO has named specific disease targets like diabetes and cancer, and stated that the company also plans to tackle antibiotic development with its platform.It will be exciting to watch these diverse and lofty goals take shape as Synthorx puts the yield of their Series B raise into action throughout the coming months and years.

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