Addition joins a growing list of launches this year, following in the footsteps of startups like Crystalys Therapeutics and Ollin Biosciences.
Addition Therapy launched on Wednesday, armed with $100 million in starting funds and two goals: one, transform the way rare and chronic diseases are treated, and two, develop one-time therapies that can overcome the shortcomings of current genetic medicines.
To achieve these lofty aspirations, the California startup will leverage its proprietary PRINT platform, an all-RNA, non-viral technology making use of lipid nanoparticles to package and deliver therapeutic payloads. The tech is still very young: non-human primate studies are set for 2026. The biotech did not provide details about its pipeline or development timeline.
Addition is backed by a group of high-profile investors, including the Gates Foundation, Abingworth, SR One and Osage University Partners. The biotech also has ongoing research initiatives with certain unnamed pharma companies to advance its PRINT programs for undisclosed rare and chronic diseases.
Aside from backing the launch, the Gates Foundation has also given Addition a grant to advance a PRINT-driven single-dose therapy that could help patients produce antibodies against HIV, potentially providing lifetime protection.
Addition will be led by CEO Ron Park, a Roche alumnus who served as the pharma’s global co-lead of personalized healthcare. Park was previously an entrepreneur in residence at Third Rock Ventures. Joining Park on Addition’s masthead is Chief Scientific Officer Francine Gregoire, who was previously head of preclinical cardiovascular development at Moderna. Gregoire has also held leadership roles at CRISPR Therapeutics and Beam Therapeutics.
Like Addition, several other startups have entered the biopharma arena this year. In September, for instance, Crystalys Therapeutics broke onto the scene with $205 million in series A funds to advance dotinurad, an oral URAT1 blocker being tested for gout. Ollin Biosciences also emerged from stealth that month, carrying $100 million in starting capital to develop its antibody OLN324, which blocks both VEGF and Ang2 pathways, for eye diseases.
