Curi Bio, a Seattle-based biotechnology company, has secured $10 million in its latest funding round. The startup specializes in facilitating pharmaceutical testing through the use of
three-dimensional tissue models and cells derived from human sources.
The funding round was spearheaded by DreamCIS, a Seoul-based organization that provides support for biopharmaceutical research and development through comprehensive research services. This Series B investment brings the company’s total capital raised to $20 million from investors, supplemented by an additional $12 million obtained through federal grants.
Among Curi Bio’s clientele are prominent pharmaceutical and
biotechnology corporations, including Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, UCB, and Novartis, among others.
According to Michael Cho, the company’s chief strategy officer, the partnership with DreamCIS represents a significant alignment of vision. He noted that there is an urgent requirement for more human-relevant data during the preclinical phase of drug development. The majority of experimental drugs do not succeed when tested in human clinical trials, largely because preclinical testing methods involving animals and two-dimensional cell models have proven inadequate for predicting outcomes in human subjects.
The company’s technology combines bioengineered tissues produced from induced pluripotent stem cells with sophisticated data collection and analytical capabilities. The newly acquired capital will be utilized to accelerate the creation of additional platforms targeting various medical conditions, including those affecting cardiac tissue, skeletal muscle, metabolic systems, smooth muscle, and neuromuscular function.
The Seattle region has established itself as a significant center for life sciences and biotechnology enterprises, with numerous initiatives incorporating artificial intelligence into research processes. Scientists in the field have stressed the importance of laboratory testing for drug candidates generated through computational methods to confirm their effectiveness and potential effects.
Jeounghee Yoo, who serves as CEO of DreamCIS, expressed enthusiasm about the investment, describing Curi Bio’s integration of cellular materials, systems, and data as a transformative approach to preclinical drug discovery. The company’s innovative platforms and their capacity to produce functional data from three-dimensional human tissues on a large scale made a strong impression.
The company’s origins trace back to the University of Washington, where it was established a decade ago under the name NanoSurface Biomedical. In April of this year, Curi Bio marked a milestone by inaugurating its new global headquarters and research facility. The new location spans 13,942 square feet and is situated on Seattle’s waterfront.
The biotechnology sector in the Seattle area continues to expand, with companies like Curi Bio at the forefront of developing more accurate methods for testing potential therapeutic treatments. The emphasis on human-relevant preclinical data represents a shift away from traditional animal testing models, which have limitations in predicting how drugs will perform in human trials.
This investment in Curi Bio reflects growing recognition of the need for improved drug development methodologies that can reduce the high failure rate of pharmaceutical candidates during clinical trials. By providing more predictive preclinical data through human-derived tissue models, the company aims to help pharmaceutical developers make better decisions earlier in the drug development process, potentially saving time and resources while improving outcomes for patients.