Exclusive: San Diego biotech raises $11.7M to use cells as targeted delivery vessels for genetic medicines

Cy­tonus Ther­a­peu­tics, a small biotech com­pa­ny north of San Diego, raised $11.7 mil­lion in Se­ries A fi­nanc­ing to en­gi­neer cells as de­liv­ery ves­sels for ge­net­ic med­i­cines, in­clud­ing mR­NA ther­a­pies and on­colyt­ic virus­es for can­cer, End­points News has learned.

The un­con­ven­tion­al ap­proach flips the script on cell ther­a­py. Rather than us­ing the cell as a med­i­cine it­self, a par­tial­ly-gut­ted cell trans­ports a drug to a spec­i­fied ad­dress in the body, thanks to mol­e­c­u­lar hom­ing bea­cons ap­pend­ed to its sur­face.

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