StrideBio, a leading developer of novel engineered adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapies, today announced the closing of an oversubscribed Series B funding round, which raised $81.5 million. The financing was co-led by Northpond Ventures and Novo Holdings A/S and included new investors Pontifax, Octagon Capital, Sarepta Therapeutics, CaaS Capital and UF Innovate Ventures, along with existing investors Hatteras Venture Partners, UCB Ventures, Takeda Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments. In conjunction with the financing, Shaan C. Gandhi, M.D., D.Phil., Director at Northpond Ventures, and Karen Hong, Ph.D., Partner at Novo Ventures, an affiliate of Novo Holdings A/S, have joined the company's Board of Directors.

Founded in 2015 based on the groundbreaking research of Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D., and Aravind Asokan, Ph.D., StrideBio is a fully integrated gene therapy company focused on creating best-in-class genetic medicines with life-changing or curative potential for children and adults. Our proprietary structure-inspired adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector engineering platform (STRIVE™) creates unique and differentiated capsids that overcome current limitations of first-generation gene therapies. Key targeted improvements include reduced seroprevalence, improved tropism for specific cell types, liver de-targeting and increased gene transfer efficiency, with the potential for improved safety and reduced doses in the clinic. StrideBio is advancing a robust pipeline of gene therapy candidates enabled by these novel engineered capsids, initially focused on genetically-defined CNS and cardiovascular disorders. Combined with our genetic construct design expertise and in-house manufacturing capability at 1000L scale, we are well positioned to advance novel best-in-class AAV gene therapies.