SKOKIE, Ill., Feb. 4, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AuraSense Therapeutics, the pioneer in developing Spherical Nucleic Acid (SNA™) constructs as gene regulatory and immunotherapeutic agents, today announced a second closing of their Series C financing, now totaling over $18 million.
The Chicago -based Company has attracted more than $27 million in capital.
"We are gratified to continue to attract quality investors who share our dedication to creating precision medicines for a safer, more effective way of treating disease, by allowing the therapeutic modality to be individually programmed to fight specific diseases while enhancing the body's own immune response," said David Giljohann, Ph.D., CEO of AuraSense Therapeutics. "We anticipate that the completion of the Series C financing will be instrumental in the clinical testing of our lead programs in psoriasis and bladder cancer."
About AuraSense Therapeutics, LLC
AuraSense Therapeutics (AST) is a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class therapies based upon its proprietary Spherical Nucleic Acid (SNA™) gene regulation and immune modulation strategies. AST is leading the translation of SNA constructs as innovative medicines with a core focus on debilitating diseases with limited or no treatment options. AuraSense Therapeutics' proprietary and versatile SNA™ constructs exhibit attractive biocompatibility properties and hold great promise for combating debilitating and life-threatening diseases, including many forms of cancer, infectious disease, and skin conditions.
About Spherical Nucleic Acids
SNA™ technology originated in the lab of Professor Chad A. Mirkin at the Northwestern University International Institute for Nanotechnology. SNAs are nanoscale particles that consist of a spherical arrangement of densely packed and radially oriented nucleic acids. This architecture overcomes one of the most difficult obstacles to gene regulation: safe and effective delivery into cells and tissues of therapeutic importance without the need for additional physical or chemical methods or components. The SNAs can be designed to be extremely potent and highly targeted gene regulation and immune-modulatory agents.