Boston-based i2O Therapeutics, a biotech startup focused on developing a platform for oral delivery of traditionally injectable biological drugs, raised a $4 million seed funding round led by Sanofi Ventures and JDRF T1D Fund.
Founded Harvard and MIT researchers, i2O Therapeutics is focused on the development of safe and effective oral formulations of therapies including biologics, large molecules and peptide-based pharmaceuticals such as insulin.
"There are a lot of anitbodies treatments that are being developed to be administered intravenously and one opportunity our tech offers is to convert that into ingestable pills," said Ravi Srinivasan, co-founder and director of the company.
The company is in preclinical developmental stage, with a focus on metabolic and oncological diseases.
“We are excited to partner with i2O Therapeutics, whose platform has the potential to revolutionize the way people with diabetes manage their disease,” Katie Ellias, managing director of the JDRF T1D Fund, said in a statement. “The possibility of an oral insulin product, among other exciting applications of the i2O platform, represents a significant commercial opportunity and more importantly, has the potential to improve glycemic management and decrease hypoglycemia risk over today’s injectable insulins.”
i2O Therapeutics is JDRF T1D's second investment in a Boston biotech. The firm also recently invested in Flagship Pioneering spinoff Repertoire Immune Medicines.
