A Seattle-based biotechnology company has secured $175 million in funding to advance its groundbreaking clinical research in epigenetic editing. Tune Therapeutics, which maintains dual headquarters in Seattle and Durham, N.C., will use the Series B funding to support ongoing clinical trials of its innovative treatment for chronic Hepatitis B.
The company’s pioneering approach focuses on controlling gene expression without altering DNA sequences directly. This novel therapeutic strategy has already entered clinical trials in New Zealand and Hong Kong, targeting a condition that affects over 250 million people worldwide and stands as the primary cause of liver cancer.
“This represents an evolution in genetic medicines,” explains Akira Matsuno, who serves as both co-founder and chief financial officer at Tune. The company’s methodology addresses diseases caused by gene misregulation rather than genetic mutations, targeting instances where proteins are either overproduced or underproduced.
The technology combines targeted genetics with an “effector” mechanism that can modify gene behavior for controlled durations. The delivery system utilizes lipid nanoparticle technology, similar to that employed in COVID-19 vaccines.
Founded in 2020, Tune Therapeutics employs 80 people split between its Seattle and Durham facilities. The company’s technological foundation stems from research conducted at Duke University by co-founder Charles Gersbach, who has also helped establish other biotech ventures in North Carolina.
The leadership team includes Fyodor Urnov, a University of California, Berkeley professor and former associate director at Seattle’s Altius Institute for Biomedical Sciences, who serves as a co-founder and scientific advisor. Matsuno brings experience from previous roles at Lyell Immunopharma and Juno Therapeutics.
The company’s proprietary TEMPO platform shows promise for various health conditions. In previous research with non-human primates, Tune demonstrated its ability to suppress specific genes and reduce LDL cholesterol levels, with effects lasting nearly two years from a single treatment.
Throughout 2025, Tune will continue enrolling patients and
administering treatments in its Hepatitis B trials. The timeline for potential U.S. trials remains undefined. Beyond Hepatitis B, the company is exploring additional liver-related applications and investigating the possibility of cellular reprogramming to restore healthy cell states through epigenetic editing.
The recent funding round, which brings Tune’s total investment to over $200 million, was spearheaded by New Enterprise Associates, Yosemite, Regeneron Ventures, and Hevolution Foundation. This investment ranks among the largest recent funding rounds for Seattle-area startups, comparable to Kestra Medical Technologies’ $196 million, Borealis Biosciences’ $180 million, and Outpace Bio’s $144 million raises.
“While this milestone is exciting for our company, we’re most enthusiastic about what it means for patients and the advancement of the field,” Matsuno noted. The company operates at the intersection of several established biotech innovations, building upon fifteen years of progress in cell and genomic medicine.
The company’s unique approach could potentially revolutionize treatment methods for various genetic conditions by focusing on gene regulation rather than genetic modification. This strategy represents a significant shift in therapeutic approaches, offering new
possibilities for addressing previously challenging medical
conditions. Through its continued research and clinical trials, Tune Therapeutics aims to validate this innovative treatment methodology while expanding its potential applications across multiple disease areas.