Two top-tier biotech venture firms have collaborated for the first time to create, incubate, and lead a series A financing round for Magenta Therapeutics.
Third Rock Ventures and Atlas Venture summoned a total of $48.5 million for the new Cambridge, Massachusetts startup, which is developing a holistic platform for stem cell transplants.
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In a company news release, Jason Gardner, CEO, president, and co-founder of Magenta Therapeutics said a new wave of stem cell science was ready for commercialization.
“Technical and scientific hurdles have relegated stem cell transplantation to a last resort for deadly diseases today, but new science is ready to be advanced to the clinic that could fundamentally open up this powerful medicine to patients suffering from earlier stage cancers, blood disorders and a large set of aggressive autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and scleroderma.”
According to the news release, Magenta aims to “reboot the immune and blood systems” using hematopoietic stem cells. These can be harvested directly from the patient’s bone marrow, bypassing the need for ethically contentious and expensive embryonic stem cells.
A portfolio of technology has been licensed from Harvard University, based on research that was performed there, at Massachusetts General Hospital, and at Boston Children’s Hospital.
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Leading much of that work was David Scadden, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard and co-founder and co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Scadden helped found Magenta and will now serve as its chief scientific officer and chair of the scientific advisory board.
There are strong ties throughout the company. Some 20 years before taking the helm as CEO, Gardner undertook a post-doctoral fellowship in Scadden’s stem cell lab. According to his LinkedIn profile, he then worked for 18 years in biopharma companies, most notably at GlaxoSmithKline.
Just over one year ago, Gardner joined Atlas Ventures as an entrepreneur-in-residence. He quickly transitioned to managing the Magenta project as it solidified in stealth mode.
Along with Third Rock and Atlas, Series A investors include GV (formerly Google Ventures), Access Industries (Blavatnik Group) and Partners Innovation Fund.
With $48.5 million raised, Magenta could have enough funding for up to three years, according to an article in Endpoints News. One of the first tasks will be growing its team of 20 employees.
Magenta enters the biotechnology landscape as a stem cell transplant company, connecting itself to recent growth areas in oncology and immunotherapy.
Unlike earlier stem cell initiatives, including those that sought to ‘cure paralysis,’ Magenta’s technology does not reverse tissue damage. It is instead designed to repopulate the immune or blood system with healthier cells, for patients with cancer, autoimmune or blood disorders. As the news release states:
“Magenta aims to broaden the range of patients eligible for transplant by improving three key aspects of the procedure: patient preparation using targeted antibodies, stem cell harvesting using new biologic agents, and increasing stem cell numbers by targeting self-renewal pathways.”
At the time of publishing, Magenta had not responded to questions sent via email.
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