Cell- and gene-therapy-focused ElevateBio has let go of 17% of staffers as part of the company’s second layoff round since raising $401 million nearly two years ago.

Developing a new drug is a long, expensive process that comes with a high risk of failure, often because would-be medicines are unsafe or ineffective.

For companies specializing in cell or gene therapies, an equally pressing concern is figuring out how to reliably make their products. Unlike small molecule or antibody drugs, genetic medicines typically involve a variety of specialized parts woven together through a complex process.

• Proceeds enable expansion and scale of ElevateBio’s cell and gene technology platforms, end-to-end capabilities, and therapeutic pipeline to serve an increasing number of biopharmaceutical partners and drive revenue growth
• ElevateBio has added more than 15 new biopharma partners across its ecosystem over the past year, including strategic gene editing collaborations with Moderna and Novo Nordisk

One of Moderna's New Year's resolutions appears to have been to expand its genomics output. The latest move in this area sees the mRNA company pen a partnership with ElevateBio’s Life Edit Therapeutics with the aim of developing next-gen gene editing therapies for hard-to-treat diseases.

ElevateBio, a richly funded biotechnology company, has formed a new startup with Boston Children’s Hospital that aims to develop more convenient alternatives to current cancer cell therapies.

Several biotech companies have announced closings of million-dollar financing rounds Monday, with Cambridge, Mass.-based cell and gene therapy company ElevateBio leading the pack. ElevateBio announced it raised $525 million in a Series C financing round, which the company says should help expand its drug programs as well as manufacturing capacity and current and future partnerships.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and ElevateBio signed a 10-year alliance, which gives MGH preferred access to ElevateBio’s BaseCamp research, process development and manufacturing facility in Waltham, Massachusetts. The access is granted for development and production of cell and gene therapies that might be developed at MGH.

David Hallal wasn’t kidding around when he said that his startup ElevateBio was ready to do business.

The ex-Alexion CEO is unveiling his first portfolio deal for his $150 million cell and gene therapy startup ElevateBio this morning.

When a biotech startup is ready to test an experimental therapy it faces a pricey choice: Should it make its drug in-house, or hire a contract manufacturer? The decision is particularly expensive for companies developing complex gene and cell therapies, which need to make large batches of engineered viruses to test their work.

A new Cambridge, MA, company called ElevateBio aims to offer an alternative path.