Google-backed Encoded raises $275 million to accelerate Dravet syndrome treatment development

Google-backed biotech company Encoded Therapeutics has raised $275 million in a Series F financing.

According to Fierce Biotech on the 9th (local time), Encoded, which focuses on neurological diseases, plans to use the funds to develop a treatment for Dravet syndrome and expand its in-house manufacturing capabilities.

The funds will support a pivotal Phase 3 study of ETX101 in infants and young children with Dravet syndrome, a rare inherited epilepsy caused by mutations in the SCN1A gene.

The round was co-led by GV and an unnamed health care fund, with participation from ARCH Venture Partners, Janus Henderson Investors, RTW Investments and SoftBank Vision Fund, among others.

The funds will also be used to build a commercial manufacturing facility and to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application in 2027 for ETX301, an AAV9-based microRNA gene therapy targeting pain from neuromas that form after nerve transection.

Encoded began dosing the first patient in the Phase 2 trial of ETX101 in May. ETX101 is an AAV9-based therapy designed to increase SCN1A gene expression in inhibitory neurons.

The company has described ETX101 as the first one-time treatment to address the underlying genetic cause of Dravet syndrome.

Encoded cut 29% of its workforce in February 2025 to fund Phase 1 and 2 trials, and those efforts have paid off. As of year-end, the study showed a 78% reduction in seizures.

Encoded CEO Kartik Ramamurthy said, "With Phase 3 development underway, this financing gives us the resources to advance ETX101 toward registration."

GV General Partner Brendan Bulik-Sullivan said, "ETX101's clinical profile is becoming increasingly compelling," adding that "sustained seizure control and promising neurodevelopmental signals support its potential as a transformative treatment."

Competition is also intensifying in the Dravet syndrome treatment market. Last year, Biogen secured U.S. rights to Stoke Therapeutics' zorevunersen, paying $165 million upfront.

Zorevunersen is an antisense oligonucleotide designed to increase production of functional NaV1.1 protein from the nonmutated copy of the SCN1A gene. Stoke and Biogen expect to report Phase 3 results by mid-next year.