BioCentury
ARTICLE | Financial News

NightstaRx debuts with L12 million from Syncona

January 30, 2014 2:18 AM UTC

NightstaRx Ltd. (London, U.K.) debuted with L12 million ($19.8 million) in a series A round from Syncona to develop gene therapies for retinal dystrophies. The University of Oxford and the university's tech transfer company Isis Innovation Ltd. (Oxford, U.K.) spun out NightstaRx with exclusive, worldwide rights to IP covering a gene therapy comprised of an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector encoding Rab escort protein 1 (CHM; REP1). The therapy -- AAV.REP1 -- is in a Phase I trial in patients with choroideremia, an inherited form of progressive blindness. NightstaRx's CEO is Melanie Lee, formerly CEO of Syntaxin Ltd., which Ipsen Group (Euronext: IPN; Pink:IPSEY) acquired last year. Syncona's Chris Hollowood is NightstaRx's chairman. ...