French female-led biotech kyron.bio raises €5.5M
Summary
The round was led by HCVC, with participation from Verve Ventures, Entrepreneur First, Saras Capital, and multiple angel investors.kyron.bios aims to address issues in biologic drug development. As drug designs become more complex, this problem is growing for biopharma companies.kyron.bio has developed a platform to control N-glycosylation, the process by which cells add glycans to the surface of therapeutics. First, the company has developed engineered cell lines by modifying Chinese Hamster Ovary cells, enabling full control over the glycosylation process during antibody production.Second, its glycan-engineering toolbox allows modification of the antibody itself to reduce immune response and improve performance, while also generating intellectual property.Combined, these technologies enable glycan structure consistency of over 97 per cent, surpassing standard bioproduction methods. McLaughlins work studying single-cell organisms during her PhD at Institut Pasteur Paris has shaped kyron.bios approach to drug development. Under her leadership, the startup developed a scalable, patent-protected method to solve this molecular design problem.Brief about the lead investorHCVC is a VC firm that invests in early-stage deeptech companies across Europe and the US.