Typewriter Therapeutics has raised $56 million in Series A financing co-led by AN Venture Partners and RA Capital Management, with participation from ANRI, Gemseki and SBI US Gateway Fund. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company also emerged from stealth alongside the financing announcement.
Founded in February 2022, Typewriter is developing genetic medicines based on the R2 retrotransposon, a naturally occurring gene-insertion system. Its platform uses target-primed reverse transcription, or TPRT, and is designed as a two-part, all-RNA therapy delivered using lipid nanoparticles. One RNA produces the R2 protein, while a second carries the therapeutic gene for insertion at a specific genomic target site.
The company is initially developing the platform for in vivo CAR T therapies and genetic liver diseases. Typewriter said it plans to begin its first non-human primate studies in late 2026, with the financing supporting work toward its first in vivo CAR T development candidate.
Typewriter’s technology builds on research into R2 retrotransposons by academic co-founders Haruhiko Fujiwara, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, and Tom Eickbush, professor emeritus at the University of Rochester. The company’s scientific team also includes founder Jun Zhou, who serves as vice president of discovery and global operations.
Alongside the financing, Typewriter appointed Matthew Stanton as chief executive officer and Leanne Peiser as chief scientific officer. Stanton previously worked at RA Capital’s Raven healthcare incubator and held senior scientific roles at Generation Bio and Moderna.
Typewriter previously announced a $5 million seed financing in February 2024 from AN Ventures and RA Capital Management, with participation from existing investor ANRI.
