Plowshare Therapies Raises $6.7 Million to Advance MSUD Gene Therapy
Funding-to-date supports manufacturing, IND-enabling toxicology, and regulatory preparation for Plowshare’s investigational dual-gene therapy for Maple Syrup Urine Disease.
LANCASTER, Pa. — Plowshare Therapies, a mission-locked biotechnology company developing gene therapies for severe pediatric rare diseases, today announced that it has raised $6.7 millionto date to advance PLOW-101, its investigational dual-gene therapy for Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) types 1A and 1B. The financing supports the program’s transition from validated preclinical science into manufacturing and IND-enabling development, including process development and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
Plowshare has completed its current fundraising initiative. The capital is being deployed against defined development milestones, including manufacturing, toxicology, and regulatory work required to move PLOW-101 toward an Investigational New Drug (IND) application. The company’s lead program is currently in IND preparation and holds FDA Orphan Drug and Rare Pediatric Disease designations.
Dr. Kevin Strauss
“Funding is most meaningful when it translates into real hope for patients. Reaching $6.7 million allows us to continue moving the MSUD program deliberately toward an IND application, ensuring every dollar counts toward advancing the science and protecting the mission.”
Kevin A. Strauss, MD, Founder, CEO, and Chief Medical Officer, Plowshare Therapies
PLOW-101 is designed to deliver both BCKDHA and BCKDHB, the two genes encoding the catalytic components of the branched-chain 2-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex, using an AAV9 vector. The program builds on peer-reviewed dual-gene rescue published in Science Translational Medicine in 2025 and on decades of clinical experience caring for children with MSUD in Lancaster County.
As part of its IND-enabling development work, Plowshare has entered into agreements with a specialized manufacturing partner to support process development and AAV GMP manufacturing for the MSUD gene therapy program.
The financing milestone reflects Plowshare’s disciplined development model. Rather than buildinga large internal infrastructure, the company works with specialized partners and links capital deployment to predefined evidence milestones. Its mission-locked structure is designed tokeep scientific progress, financial stewardship, and patient access aligned as programs advance.
MSUD is a life-threatening inherited metabolic disorder that prevents the body from properly breaking down branched-chain amino acids. The disease occurs worldwide but is concentratedin several founder populations, including Old Order Mennonite communities in Pennsylvania,where incidence is approximately one in 380 births. Plowshare’s approach grew from morethan two decades of direct clinical care for families affected by MSUD in Lancaster County.