Paris-based biotech startup WhiteLab Genomics has secured €23.2 million in a funding round led by AVP, an investment platform with over €2.5 billion in assets under management. New investors Yaday Health and Blast Club participated in the round alongside existing backers Omnes Capital and Debiopharm Innovation Fund.
The company, founded in 2019 by David Del Bourgo, Lucia Cinque, and Julien Cottineau, utilizes its proprietary ALFRED platform to design and validate genomic medicines. The technology focuses on optimizing delivery vehicles, such as viral and non-viral vectors, to ensure therapies reach specific cells effectively.
WhiteLab Genomics has demonstrated its platform's capabilities through collaborations with the Paris Brain Institute, successfully engineering AAVs that cross the blood-brain barrier. The company plans to present further data at the upcoming European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Annual Congress, highlighting partnerships with Sanofi, Cytiva, and Institut Imagine.
The new capital will support the expansion of in vivo validation efforts into non-viral delivery technologies and synthetic promoters. Additionally, the funding will facilitate the growth of the company's Boston hub and its presence on the US West Coast, while exploring market opportunities in Japan and South Korea.
Following the investment, François Robinet from AVP and Dr. Daniel Teper from Yaday Health will join the WhiteLab Board of Directors. The company currently operates offices in Paris, Boston, and Montreal, aiming to build a portfolio of validated bio-assets for global pharmaceutical and biotechnology partnerships.
