AuraSense Therapeutics Secures Series B Equity Investment

EVANSTON, Ill., Dec. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AuraSense Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company commercializing spherical nucleic acid (SNA) constructs as gene regulation- and chemo-therapeutics for a variety of diseases, including applications in oncology, dermatology, neurology, and for cardiovascular disorders, has closed its Series B financing. Investors included Abbott Biotech Ventures, a subsidiary of Abbott. Other key individual investors included Patrick Ryan, founder of Aon; David Walt, co-founder of Illumina; Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google; and Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer of Microsoft. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

"We are delighted to complete this financing and have this consortium of investors join us in our mission to transform the field of gene regulation," said Chad Mirkin, co-founder of AuraSense Therapeutics. "This financing underscores the highly unique benefits of the SNA platform and will accelerate our efforts to develop it to its full potential supporting therapies for multiple diseases."

Schiff Hardin LLP served as deal counsel to AuraSense Therapeutics for the investment transaction.

About AuraSense Therapeutics, LLC

AuraSense Therapeutics, LLC is a privately held biopharmaceutical company founded by Professors Chad A. Mirkin and C. Shad Thaxton at Northwestern University. The Company is dedicated to developing and commercializing spherical nucleic acid (SNA) conjugates. Its proprietary SNA constructs possess unparalleled biocompatibility and versatility as therapeutics, and they hold great promise for combating the world's most threatening diseases. The Company's SNA technology overcomes the most difficult obstacles to gene regulation: genetic targeting with safe and effective in vivo performance. For additional information about the company, please visit www.aurasensetherapeutics.com.

SOURCE AuraSense Therapeutics, LLC