Philly gene-therapy firm based on Temple University research raises $11 million

Renovacor Inc., a Philadelphia company gene-therapy company based on research by a professor at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine, received $11 million in first-round venture capital funding.

The money will be used to prepare for human clinical trials.

The research by Arthur Feldman, the Temple professor, is aimed at treating a version of a heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy that is caused by a mutated gene. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition involving the weakening of the heart’s main pumping chamber.

Novartis Venture Fund, Broadview Ventures, and BioAdvance, led the investment. They were joined by New Leaf Venture Partners and Innogest Capital.

Development work for Renovacor, which employs at least five people, is done at Feldman’s lab. Philadelphia-based Magdelene Cook is the company’s chief executive.

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