CPTx

Since its discovery in 2006, programmable DNA nanofabrication with DNA origami has attracted immense interest due to excellent programmability and biocompatibility with many applications including in cell and gene therapies, nanoelectronics and sensors, and delivery technologies in diverse areas such as cancer immunotherapy and even in materials science. However, the deployment and commercialization of the technology has thus far been slow and commercial traction limited due to challenges in scalability and in designing and assembling the DNA structures themselves.

CPTx founder and CEO Hendrik Dietz has been at the forefront of applied DNA nanofabrication research for decades and his work, which has been published in leading scientific journals, has become the centerpiece of the company. The first applications are tackling two complementary areas (a) creating a pathogen agnostic antiviral platform designed for targeted viral interventions and (b) the large-scale production of short and gene-length DNA single strands at massive scales (“GXstrands”). Both the antiviral platform and GXstrands applications are interrelated: the large-scale production of specific oligonucleotide pools is critical in creating more specialized antiviral motifs for a broader range of viral pathogens; while the high-quality gene-length DNA strands produced by GXstrands will be used in the R&D phases of the the new antiviral therapeutics, accelerating the time-to-market for additional iterations of the product.

Our Thesis

There are over 200 known viruses that could infect humans which cause a wide range of diseases, from mild illnesses like the common cold to severe and life-threatening conditions like HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and COVID-19; not to mention the constant threat of novel zoonotic-related viruses (or the risk of viruses as emerging bioweapons). Although successful drugs can generate billions in revenue (such as the hepatitis C drug combo from Gilead which made $10 billion in 2015 alone), there are only limited options for effective antiviral treatments. We believe CPTx has an opportunity to leverage their knowledge and capabilities in DNA nanofabrication to build the first truly programmable antiviral platform, as well as to produce high-quality oligonucleotide pools and gene-length DNA single strands to supply the growing demand for nucleic acids, particularly from emerging cell and gene therapy therapies, with the aim to become a leading supplier for the entire pharma industry.

We are excited to be backing CPTx on their mission to pioneer next-gen antiviral and biodefense solutions, based on programmable DNA nanofabrication. Read more about their recent $29m financing here.