Epicrispr raises $90 million to switch off the gene behind FSHD

Epicrispr Biotechnologies of San Francisco closed a $90 million Series C on 11 August 2026, co-led by Octagon Capital and Janus Henderson Investors, with Fidelity, Cormorant, Duquesne Family Office, Sanofi Ventures, abrdn, Angelini Ventures and Readout Capital joining alongside existing backers. The money is earmarked for pivotal studies of EPI-321.

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is caused by the pathological expression of DUX4, a gene that is normally switched off in muscle. EPI-321 does not cut or rewrite that gene. It uses an epigenetic mechanism, delivered once intravenously in an AAV vector, to silence DUX4 while leaving the DNA sequence intact — the distinction that separates gene editing from gene regulation, and one reason the approach is being tested in a disease where the sequence itself is not broken.

Epicrispr says its completed Phase 1/2 enrolment produced statistically significant increases in whole-body lean muscle volume on MRI, and biomarker changes consistent with DUX4 suppression, after a single dose. Chief executive Amber Salzman called the financing a pivotal milestone. The company has not published the trial data; the figures above are its own.