China-based Lumiere Therapeutics has closed a nine-figure RMB Pre-A round led by Essentials Capital and Hofon Capital, with participation from Nanjing Innovation Capital Group, EFung Capital, GBA Institute of Collaborative Innovation, Grandlead Venture, and other specialist investors, with proceeds earmarked for clinical development of epigenetic medicines toward single-course chronic-disease cures, plus new pipeline build-out and continued expansion of its delivery platform.

Founded in September 2021, the company uses proprietary epigenetic editing paired with lipid nanoparticle (LNP) or virus-like-particle (VLP) delivery to achieve precise hepatic and extrahepatic gene regulation in hard-to-treat conditions such as hepatitis B and hypercholesterolaemia.

The financing lands as epigenetic editing moves from concept to clinic: Epicrispr saw EPI-321, an AAV-delivered therapy for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, enter the clinic in April 2025 as the first epigenetic editor cleared in the US, completed enrolment in its Phase I/II study, and raised USD 90 million in a Series C in August 2026, while China’s Epigenic took LNP-delivered EPI-003 into Chinese and US clinical approval for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) between late 2025 and early 2026.

Unlike CRISPR base or gene editing, epigenetic approaches aim to silence or reprogram pathogenic gene activity without double-strand breaks, which lowers genomic-integrity risk and fits chronic, relapsing diseases.