Deep-tech venture capital firm Civilization Ventures is announcing an important milestone in its portfolio as Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing first-in-class gene therapy treatments for devastating rare diseases, reached and exceeded one billion dollars in market value for the first time in late Q3 2018.
"The reality of gene therapies to revolutionize healthcare is here. We are excited to have backed Rocket Pharmaceuticals and its CEO Gaurav Shah, who has been a pioneer in the field for over a decade," said Shahram Seyedin-Noor, founder and General Partner of Civilization Ventures. Rocket Pharma is developing a pipeline across multiple rare diseases such as Fanconi Anemia, a difficult to treat genetic disease that leads to bone marrow failure and potentially cancer, using cutting-edge gene and cell therapies, including CRISPR-Cas9. Rocket’s multi-platform development approach applies the well-established lentiviral vector and adeno-associated viral vector (AAV) gene therapy platforms. Rocket is also developing an AAV-based gene therapy program for an undisclosed rare pediatric disease.
“We were delighted to have Shahram Seyedin-Noor as an investor in our business,” said Dr. Gaurav Shah, CEO of Rocket Pharma. “As an entrepreneur himself and co-founder of Rgenix, a clinical-stage oncology company, Shahram brings unique business insights to his investments.”
Civilization Ventures was formed in 2017 by serial life sciences entrepreneur Shahram Seyedin-Noor to invest in transformative technologies across regenerative and personalized medicine, diagnostics and genomics, digital health, artificial intelligence and synthetic biology. The firm, listed by Silicon Valley Bank as one of the most prolific new investors in the life sciences in its Trends in Healthcare Investments and Exits 2018 report, has a portfolio of over 20 frontier tech companies that have gone on to raise over $200 million in capital from other leading investors.
About Civilization Ventures:
Civilization Ventures is an early-stage investor in deep tech companies in synthetic biology and health tech across personalized and regenerative medicine, diagnostics and genomics, digital health, and artificial intelligence in healthcare.
https://www.civilizationventures.com/
Twitter: @CivilizationVC
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Contacts:
Shahram Seyedin-Noor
info@civilizationventures.com
