This Swiss Startup's Gene Editing Breakthrough Just Got $2.8M to Scale

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-22

### A New Chapter for Gene Editing Immitra Bio, a Zurich-based genetic medicine platform focused on making gene editing therapies scalable and commercially viable, has just closed an upsized pre-seed round of $2.8 million. The company is tackling one of the biggest challenges in modern medicine: how to deliver gene therapies that are both effective and accessible to patients who need them most. ### Who Put Up the Money? The round was led by Backbone Ventures and co-led by OCCIDENT, with participation from a strong syndicate including Another VC, Kickfund, Venture Kick, Zurcher Kantonalbank, FONGIT, ETH Foundation, and a group of select private investors. Venture capital and private investors contributed $2.63 million, while an additional $176,000 came from non-dilutive funding sources. ### What Makes Immitra Bio Different? Founded in 2024 by Jan Nelis, Amir Taheri, and Jacob Corn, Immitra Bio is developing a platform for one-time curative in-vivo gene editing therapies. Here’s what sets them apart: - They use a novel mutation-agnostic gene editing technology, meaning their approach works regardless of the specific genetic mutation. - Their digital target identification platform helps them discover and validate new therapeutic targets faster. - They’re creating off-the-shelf drug formulations designed to treat all patients with a given disease, not just a subset. ### The Problem with Current Therapies Today’s approved stem cell therapies for genetic disorders come with serious drawbacks. They’re toxic, unscalable, slow, and expensive, all because they rely on ex-vivo approaches. That means doctors have to remove cells from the patient, edit them in a lab, and then transplant them back. It’s a complex, costly process that limits access. Immitra Bio is developing an in-vivo alternative: a single, off-the-shelf injection that cures patients without chemotherapy or cell transplantation. No toxic conditioning, no lengthy hospital stays, just a straightforward treatment that could work for millions. ### A Bold Vision for the Future Jan Nelis, CEO and co-founder, put it this way: “At Immitra Bio, we are advancing a fundamentally new approach to gene editing therapies. Our goal is to make gene editing therapies scalable, commercially viable, and accessible to patients. Our platform has the potential to generate dozens of highly differentiated therapeutic assets in an accelerated fashion.” Paul Sunzenauer from OCCIDENT added: “Recent advances and growing market adoption of gene therapies have validated the enormous potential of curative genetic medicine. However, current approaches still face significant challenges, such as chemotherapy-related toxicities, manufacturing complexity, and limited scalability. Immitra Bio’s differentiated in-vivo platform is designed to address these challenges head-on.” ### What the Money Will Fund The fresh capital will primarily support preclinical proof-of-concept studies for Immitra Bio’s lead candidate, IB-003, a potential one-time curative in-vivo gene editing treatment for an inherited anemia. Beyond that, the financing will fuel further discovery and validation work across their pipeline, powered by their digital target discovery platform, and help them refine the platform itself. ### Why This Matters If Immitra Bio succeeds, it could transform how we treat genetic diseases. Instead of expensive, personalized therapies that only work for a few, we could have affordable, off-the-shelf cures for entire patient populations. That’s the kind of shift that could reshape healthcare as we know it. For now, the company is focused on proving its approach works in the lab. But with this funding and a strong team behind it, Immitra Bio is definitely one to watch.