gene-activation
(2)
Syntax Bio
Syntax Bio is a Chicago synthetic biology company building Cellgorithm, a CRISPR-based platform that programs stem cells to differentiate on command. Instead of coaxing stem cells into specialized cell types through months of manual, growth-factor-heavy protocols, Cellgorithm encodes the sequence of gene activations that mimic human development into a single DNA program, collapsing timelines from months to weeks. Spun out of the University of Illinois Chicago and formerly known as Cellgorithmics, the company has raised more than $25 million and is advancing a pancreatic beta cell therapy for type 1 diabetes while partnering with biopharma to program cells at scale.
Tune Therapeutics
Tune Therapeutics is a genetic-medicine company building tools to turn genes up or down without cutting DNA. Its TEMPO epigenetic-editing platform tunes gene expression the way a sound engineer rides a fader - reversible, programmable, and precise. Spun out of Duke's Gersbach Lab, Tune raised over $175M in Series B financing in January 2025 and is running first-in-human trials of TUNE-401, an epigenetic silencer for chronic hepatitis B, with the larger ambition of editing the genome's software to extend human healthspan.