EMBL Spin-Off Epitome Therapeutics Launches with €4M to Pioneer Precision Epigenome Editing for Gene Activation
Key Insights
Epitome Therapeutics (search), an EMBL (search) spin-off founded in 2025, launched with €4 million in total funding including an oversubscribed €2 million pre-seed round and €2 million in non-dilutive grants.
The company's CADENCE platform enables precise, durable, and tunable activation of gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence, targeting diseases driven by dysregulated gene activity.
The pre-seed round was co-led by XISTA Science Ventures (search) and Caesar Ventures (search), with participation from Navec Venture Holding (search), plus grants from AWS and FFG.
Epitome Therapeutics (search), a Vienna-based biotechnology company spun out from EMBL (search) Rome, announced its official launch on June 30, 2026, backed by €4 million in total funding. The financing comprises an oversubscribed €2 million pre-seed round co-led by XISTA Science Ventures (search) and Caesar Ventures (search), with participation from Navec Venture Holding (search) GmbH, alongside €2 million in non-dilutive grant funding from the Austrian federal development and financing bank AWS and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) (search).
The company is advancing CADENCE, a next-generation epigenome editing platform designed to enable precise, durable, and context-dependent control of gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence. Unlike most genetic medicine approaches that focus on switching genes off or replacing faulty genetic instructions, Epitome is targeting diseases where gene activity needs to be restored, increased, or finely adjusted.
"Genes do not simply need to be ON or OFF – they need to be expressed at the right level," said Dr. Jamie Hackett, Co-Founder and CSO of Epitome Therapeutics (search). "Many diseases arise when that balance is disrupted. The CADENCE platform enables precise control of gene dosage, allowing us to restore activity of specific genes to therapeutically meaningful levels. We believe this precision medicine approach represents a fundamentally new therapeutic modality to treat genetic and complex disease."
A Modular Platform for Context-Dependent Gene Activation
The CADENCE platform is built around a modular set of optimized epigenetic effectors. By modifying regulatory layers around DNA rather than rewriting the DNA code itself, the platform aims to tailor gene activation to specific biological contexts, giving the company greater control over the level, duration, and setting of gene expression. This design is intended to achieve greater precision, flexibility, and safety than earlier gene activation technologies.
Epitome is initially positioning the platform for diseases caused by misregulated gene activity, including rare and metabolic diseases. The company has not yet disclosed its lead targets, specific disease indications beyond these broad categories, delivery approaches, or timelines for candidate selection.
Scientific Foundations and Leadership
Epitome was founded in 2025 by CEO Dr. Guido Gualdoni and CSO Dr. Jamie Hackett. The company's technology builds on research conducted at EMBL (search) Rome, including discoveries reported in a landmark 2024 Nature Genetics paper, and is supported by intellectual property exclusively licensed from EMBL.
"Completing an oversubscribed financing is a strong endorsement of both our team and the potential of the CADENCE platform," said Dr. Guido Gualdoni, Co-Founder and CEO. "The new funding enables us to build the company around CADENCE and translate our science into the first development programmes. Our immediate focus is to advance the platform, expand our team, and work toward the selection of our first drug candidate."
Investor Confidence in a New Therapeutic Modality
Alexander Schwartz, Partner at XISTA Science Ventures (search), commented: "We were impressed by the breakthrough nature of Epitome Therapeutics (search)' approach to epigenome editing, especially its focus on targeted upregulation, and by the team's ambition to translate this science into therapeutically relevant programmes."
Gregor Unger, Managing Partner at Caesar Ventures (search), added: "With our investment in Epitome Therapeutics (search), we are backing an exceptional team that has rethought gene regulation. What convinced us is the rare combination of scientific depth and entrepreneurial experience around Guido and Jamie."
Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Epitome's development programmes toward drug candidate nomination, expand the technological scope of the CADENCE platform, and grow the company's scientific and operational team. The company remains at an early stage, with key disclosures about lead targets and clinical timelines still to come.