Cathie Wood's fund, which invests in the genomic revolution, has purchased shares in Scribe, a newcomer to the stock market

ARK Genomic, the fund led by Cathie Wood that invests inthe “genomic revolution,” has acquired shares in the biotech company Scribe Therapeutics, which develops treatments for heart disease using DNA-based technologies. The company, backed by Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Dowden and pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Sanofi, held its IPO on Nasdaq on July 24. On its first day of trading, its stock price soared by more than 44%.

On July 24, the ARK Genomic Revolution Fund acquired shares of Scribe Therapeutics, according to Investing.com. The company held its IPO on Nasdaq just last Friday, offering 8.58 million shares (20% more than planned) at $15 per share—the upper end of the price range.

According to its own data, ARK Genomic holds 361,250 shares of the company, valued at $7.8 million. This suggests that the fund may have acquired the shares at an average price of $21.65 per share, 44% above the offering price. This is roughly in line with market prices—on July 24, Scribe shares closed at $21.7.

Scribe, whose founders include Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Dowden, is exploring the potential of gene editing to treat cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, particularly atherosclerotic conditions.

While most developers of genetic therapies focus on rare diseases, Scribe focuses on common diseases that affect millions of people, according to the company's website.

Its main drug candidate is called STX-1150. Without altering human DNA, it is able to “silence” certain genes and prevent the body from producing bad cholesterol. The drug is currently in the early stages of clinical trials, and the company plans to present its first data in 2027, according to Bloomberg.

Scribe's investors include pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, entities affiliated with the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and the Avoro Life Sciences Fund. Another pharmaceutical giant—the French company Sanofi, which already has a $1.5 billion collaboration agreement with the biotech firm— and, through two of its subsidiaries, planned to purchase 7.5 million of its shares, at $14 each, during a parallel private placement, according to the company’s IPO prospectus.

Scribe boasts a top-notch founding team and strong backing from major investors, but the company faces significant clinical and regulatory risks, wrote Donovan Jones, an expert at the research firm IPO Edge, on the Seeking Alpha portal.

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