French Biotech Brink Therapeutics Secures €3.5M to Pioneer Next-Generation Gene Editing with Recombinases

Paris, April 17, 2025 – Brink Therapeutics, a French TechBio startup specializing in innovative gene editing and gene therapies, today announced the successful completion of a €3.5 million seed financing round. The investment was spearheaded by leading venture capital firms Kurma Partners and Breega, with strong backing from Kima Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, and a distinguished group of business angels from the healthcare and artificial intelligence sectors. This funding injection will fuel the advancement of Brink Tx’s groundbreaking gene-editing platform centered on the discovery and development of therapeutic recombinases, aiming to establish the company as a global leader in this transformative field.

Founded in September 2024 by accomplished scientists Dr. Jonathan Naccache (ESPCI) and Dr. Harry Kemble (INSERM/ESPCI), Brink Tx builds upon the founders’ prior significant contributions to the success of the diagnostic startup Detect. The company’s innovative approach focuses on overcoming the limitations of current “genetic scissors” (programmable nucleases) in gene editing by harnessing the power of recombinases – naturally occurring enzymes known for their precision and safety.

Brink Tx’s core technology employs a sophisticated “in vitro compartmentalization” method, enabling the ultra-high-throughput screening of billions of recombinase variants. This generates an unparalleled library of data, which will be used to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) models for in silico² design of novel recombinases. This AI-driven strategy promises to dramatically accelerate the identification of new drug candidates with enhanced efficacy and specificity.

Initially, Brink Tx will concentrate on developing advanced CAR-T cell therapies for hematological cancers, a promising area of genetically modified cell therapy. However, the versatility of their recombinase platform extends to a wide range of other therapeutic applications, including next-generation cell therapies for solid tumors and the treatment of rare genetic diseases.

The €3.5 million seed funding will be strategically deployed to expand Brink Tx’s research and development team, with a target of recruiting fifteen specialists in molecular biology, cellular biology, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence over the next two years. A key operational objective for the company is the validation of five novel recombinases demonstrating robust efficacy and precise insertion capabilities in human cells by the end of 2026, marking a critical step towards bringing their innovative gene-editing solutions to patients.