Silicon Valley investor Khosla Ventures joins esteemed group of global investors backing Turn
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Turn Biotechnologies, a company developing novel RNA medicines for untreatable age-related conditions, today announced that it has closed its latest round of funding. The company has the support of investors focused on identifying and backing enterprises that have the potential to change the world with their disruptive technologies.
Khosla Ventures, with a history of investing in "Black Swan" ideas that offer significant upside, became the newest investor in Turn, joining the Shanda Group and Formic Ventures. These firms have stakes in cutting-edge Asian, European and North American companies and are credited with investing in tipping point companies worldwide.
"Turn sits at the convergence of several areas of recent dramatic innovation, namely in delivery of RNA as a therapeutic, understanding of cellular senescence, and cellular reprogramming," said Alex Morgan, MD, PhD, Partner at Khosla Ventures. "This technology out of Stanford University is on track to creating novel therapeutics to help heal and rejuvenate age-damaged tissues."
Khosla, Shanda Group and Formic Ventures join Turn's early investors, Methuselah Fund and Methuselah Foundation, which specialize in companies committed to extending healthy lifespans and improving quality of life as we age.
"These investments by funds with a reputation for picking winners around the world recognize Turn's innovation, vision and potential to disrupt the market," said CEO Anja Krammer. "As the population ages, millions of elderly persons are forced to cope with age-related conditions for which only symptomatic treatment exists. Our new investors enable Turn to bring to the market the promise of a technology that has the potential to improve quality of life and change healthcare economics globally."
Turn focuses on the repair of tissue at the cellular level, utilizing its patent-pending mRNA platform technology, ERA™, to combat the effects of aging in the epigenome, thus restoring optimal gene expression and enabling cells to function as vigorously as younger cells. This restores the cells' ability to prevent or treat disease and heal or regenerate tissue.
Use of mRNA, which led to the quick development of two COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the United States, promises to revolutionize the development of therapeutics by making that development safer, faster, more efficient and extremely tunable to patient need.
Turn's epigenetic reprogramming technology has the potential to significantly impact a wide variety of age-related diseases, and the company is currently exploring treatments for dermatologic, osteoarthritic, ophthalmic and muscular conditions. Its work in these areas has also attracted several potential partners, which are currently in discussions with Turn.
ABOUT TURN BIOTECHNOLOGIES
Turn is a pre-clinical-stage company focused on repairing tissue at the cellular level. The company's proprietary mRNA technology combats the effects of aging in the epigenome, thus restoring optimal gene expression and enabling cells to function as vigorously as when they were younger. Turn's technology provides a platform from which to attack a variety of diseases related to age. The company is currently completing pre-clinical research on tailored therapies targeting indications in dermatology, ophthalmology, osteo-arthritis and cartilage damage and musculature. For more information, see www.turn.bio.
ABOUT KHOSLA VENTURES
Khosla Ventures provides venture assistance and strategic advice to entrepreneurs working on breakthrough technologies. The firm was founded by Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and focuses on transformative technology in consumer, enterprise, education, financial services, health, big data, agriculture/food, sustainable energy and robotics. For more information, see www.khoslaventures.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Jim Martinez, rightstorygroup
jim@rightstorygroup.com or (312) 543-9026
or
Wendy Dolwig, Turn Biotechnologies
wendy.dolwig@turn.bio
