Samsung said on the 30th that it will invest in Arbor Biotechnologies (hereafter Arbor Biotechnologies), a U.S. company with gene-editing technology, through the Life Science Fund, which was created to develop new technologies and businesses in life sciences.
The Life Science Fund is a venture investment fund jointly established with contributions from Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, and Samsung Bioepis. Samsung Venture Investment formed and is operating the fund.
Through the investment in Arbor Biotechnologies, Samsung plans to explore new business opportunities and seek possibilities for collaboration on core research in gene-editing technology.
Gene editing is a technology used to treat and prevent various diseases, including hereditary intractable diseases, blood disorders, cancer, and congenital conditions.
Arbor Biotechnologies is a biotech venture company that possesses gene-editing technology, which recognizes and cuts specific locations in genes and can insert, delete, modify, and replace specific genes. In particular, by performing AI- and Machine Learning–based predictive methods and high-throughput screening, it holds optimized enzymes of various sizes and functions. The company said this enables editing of most of the human genome.
Feng Zhang, co-founder of Arbor Biotechnologies, made an innovative contribution to the applicability of CRISPR-Cas–based gene-editing technology in animal and human cells. Zhang is known as a world-renowned authority in gene-editing technology who co-founded Editas Medicine and Beam Therapeutics, U.S. Nasdaq-listed developers of gene-editing therapies.
Kim Yun-cheol, executive director and head of the Enable team at Samsung Bioepis, said, "Gene editing is a core technology for treating gene-related diseases, and Arbor Biotechnologies is a company with high expertise and growth potential in gene-editing technology, giving it a strong chance to emerge as a leading company in the field."
Since 2022, the Life Science Fund operated by Samsung Venture Investment has diversified its investment areas from gene therapies to ADCs (antibody-drug conjugates), blood protein analysis technologies, Generative AI–based protein drug discovery, and gene-editing technologies.