Seerave invests in Florey Biosciences and takes aim at mitigating impacts of antibiotic use
Key Points
- Seerave Ventures has made a pre-seed investment in Florey Biosciences, a spinout of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University
- Florey is developing an engineered yeast strain designed for the management of antibiotic damage to the gut microbiome
- As a founding partner, Seerave will contribute strategic and operational support alongside its capital investment
October 1, 2024 – Today, we are announcing that Seerave Ventures, the investment arm of the Foundation, has made a new investment in Florey Biosciences, a synthetic biology company with a novel technology platform that can deliver any protein of interest to the gut. Florey’s lead program is a medical food intended for the dietary management of antibiotic damage to the gut microbiome.
Florey’s technology is a promising innovation for addressing the impacts of antibiotic use. It speaks to the strategic commitment that we recently announced to mitigate the impacts of microbiome modifiers on cancer outcomes and deliver meaningful benefits to patients within five years.
Immunotherapy is one of the most promising new frontiers of cancer treatment, but overall survival is about half as long for patients who received antibiotics before immunotherapy. Often, taking antibiotics is an unavoidable and life-saving measure. It can, however, compromise the microbes that live in our guts and that play a profound role in how our immune systems function.
“We see our support of Florey as a key part of our efforts to meaningfully improve patients’ lives within the next five years,” said Manuel Fankhauser, CEO of the Seerave Foundation, in a press release issued by Florey on Oct 1.
As part of Seerave’s involvement, Mark Smith, Venture Lead at Seerave, has joined the board of Florey Biosciences.
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