Curi Bio raises $10M for stem-cell based drug discovery platforms
- ByStartupStory | December 31, 2021
Seattle-based startup Curi Bio has raised $10 million to advance its drug discovery platform, which is based on human stem cells.
Curi Bio enables the screening of new drugs using human tissue-derived cells, known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). She specializes in cardiac, musculoskeletal, and neuromuscular models. “Discovering new therapies requires human-adapted disease models. Curi is working to bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical outcomes,” CEO Michael Cho said in a statement announcing the funding on Wednesday.
The startup provides personalized research services, including drug testing and screening development, to its pharmaceutical partners. Curi Bio has partnerships or clients with several major biopharmaceutical companies.
“We build 3D engineered functional models – like beating heart tissue – from iPSCs,” said commercial director and co-founder Elliot Fisher in an email to GeekWire. “As a bonus, all of this reduces the need for animal testing.
Curi Bio also sells products for cell culture, in particular the “Mantarray” platform for growing three-dimensionally modified muscle tissues and measuring their contractility. He also sells a “Cytostretcher” device for experiments involving stretching cells, which can be used to “image living cells during your stretch.”
Series A funding round follows a $6 million funding round this spring. The six-year-old company has also received more than $6 million in funding from the US National Institutes of Health.
Last year, Curi Bio changed its name from NanoSurface Biomedical and moved to a 5,000 square foot space near the Seattle waterfront.
In 2020, Curi Bio also acquired Dana Solutions, a startup that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to examine cells. The deal builds on the 2019 acquisition by the University of Washington and Techstars alumni Silene Biotech, a cryopreservation and stem cell banking company.
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