Philly-Based VintaBio, Gene Therapy-Focused CDMO, Comes Out of Stealth
By Mark Terry
April 13, 2023
Philadelphia-based VintaBio, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on cell and gene therapies, came out of stealth mode. In addition to $64 million in funding, the company has a new chief executive officer, David Radspinner, who took time to speak with BioBuzz about the company.
Radspinner, who had been with the company only a few weeks, indicated it was launched about two-and-a-half years ago. It was co-founded by Junwei Sun and Shangzhen Zhou, both with a long history with gene therapies at the University of Pennsylvania. Junwei Sun was co-founder of Spark Therapeutics, a spinout from the University of Pennsylvania that developed the first-ever FDA-approved gene therapy, Luxturna, for a genetic form of blindness. Spark was acquired by Roche. Shangzhen Zhou helped develop the second FDA-approved gene therapy, Zolgensma, for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). That therapy is marketed by Novartis in the U.S. and Europe.
“Our core specialty today is gene therapy. Junwei Sun and Shangzhen Zhou are some of the pioneers in manufacturing and development of some of the earliest gene and cell therapies,” Radspinner said.
In addition to a new CEO, the company recently finished a new 22,500-square-foot manufacturing facility at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. “There is some capacity around cell and gene therapy vectors,” Radspinner said, “but there are also challenges that we expect to help alleviate. There have been a lot of manufacturing projects that have struggled and our approach to alleviating the challenge is we have tremendous expertise in creating vectors, AAV and lentiviral vectors. We’re able to add capacity, but not just general capacity. We have excellent experience and a purpose-built facility.”
Radspinner said the facility is “up and running. It’s qualified, the HVAC is fully balanced and running. We’re refining our SOPs and everything looks good.”
The $64 million raise was led by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Decheng Capital. The venture capital firm’s portfolio includes Apexigen, ARMO Biosciences, Grail, Impact Bio, Mammoth Biosciences, Scynexis and numerous others.
Min Cui, Founder and Managing Director of Decheng Capital, said in a press statement, “VintaBio comes with the highest degrees of specialism and industry experience in a field of retrofitted, generalist operations. This focus and world-class expertise were the reason we backed VintaBio, as they can truly stand out and make a difference in an undefined market lacking specialist leaders.”
Radspinner said that a lot of the funding went into the manufacturing facility as well as the people. When asked what the plan was for the remaining funds, he indicated that’s what he’s developing. “We’re at the phase now where it’s about commercial and operational excellence. Commercial excellence means getting visible, which we’re starting here, refining our value proposition and messaging to customers and making sure that we can pull in the projects and execute those flawlessly. So that’s where a lot of my energy is going as I continue to look at what the industry needs, what the market needs, and what’s missing. What can we do that others can’t do as well? And I’ll continue to look at that. If that means additional funding, then I’ll go out and secure that funding.”
Radspinner most recently was president of ILC Dover’s biotherapeutics portfolio. He has also worked with GE Healthcare Life Sciences (Cytiva), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Eli Lilly and Sanofi.
Having moved to Philadelphia from San Diego, Radspinner said, “I’m excited to be here. For me, it’s the team and the facility. I like the vibe of what’s going on here. I love the shareholders and the board, and I love the team and the facility. I like the vibe of what the company is doing, what Navy Yard is doing.”
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Mark Terry is a freelance writer, editor, novelist and ghostwriter. He holds a degree in microbiology & public health and spent 18 years in infectious disease research and clinical and research genetics prior to his transition to a writing career. His areas of expertise include biotechnology, pharma, clinical diagnostics, and medical practice management. He has written literally thousands of articles, as well as market research reports, white papers, more than 20 books, and many other written materials. He currently lives in Michigan with his family.
