About AskBio
AskBio is a Healthcare company based in Durham (United States) founded in 2001 by Jude Samulski and Sheila Mikhail, and was acquired by Bayer in October 2020. Gene and protein therapies are developed for treating various diseases. AskBio has raised $235 million across 8 funding rounds from investors including Bayer, TPG and HHS. AskBio has completed 2 acquisitions, including Brain Vectis and Synpromics. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Sheila Mikhail. Its website askbio.com draws about 14 thousand monthly visits. AskBio offers products and services including AAV Gene Therapy Platform and Discovery Program. Its focus areas include Life Sciences, Neurology, Drugs and Diversified. Its legal entity is SYNPROMICS LTD. Its competitors include Spark Therapeutics, Amyris and Biogen; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
AskBio was founded in 2001 in Durham, United States, and operates in the biotechnology sector. Novel protein and cellular-based therapies are developed and delivered using a proprietary platform of recombinant adeno-associated virus biological nanoparticles. This technology enables high transduction efficiency, controlled expression, and targeted tissue delivery. The product pipeline encompasses treatments for muscular dystrophy, hemophilia B in Phase 1 trials, congestive heart failure, epilepsy, retinitis pigmentosa, and osteoporosis.
- Total Equity Funding$235M (USD)
in 8 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$2.68M (USD), Grant
Sep 2020
- InvestorsBayer
& 4 more
- Investments & AcquisitionsBrain Vectis
& 1 more
- Acquired byBayer
(Oct 2020)
Products & Services of AskBio
AskBio offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including AAV Gene Therapy Platform and Discovery Program.
Platform for developing treatments targeting genetic diseases using AAV vectors.
Program enabling partnerships for advancing gene therapy innovations.
Apps and channels of AskBio
its YouTube channel AskBio Inc. has 86 subscribers and 7 videos.
Videos from AskBio
The most watched videos on AskBio's YouTube channel, AskBio Inc. (86 subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on AskBio Inc..
Funding Insights of AskBio
AskBio has successfully raised a total of $235M across 8 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Grant round of $2.68 million completed in September 2020. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $235M
- Total Rounds 8
- Last Round Grant — $2.68M
- First Round $283,690
(Sep 2008)
- Investors Count 4
All 8 funding rounds of AskBio with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2020 | $2.68M | Grant | – | – | |
| Apr 2019 | $235M | Private Equity Round | – | Vida Ventures, TPG | – |
| Aug 2014 | $270,008 | Grant | – | – | |
| Sep 2010 | $320,999 | Grant | – | – | |
| Jun 2010 | $3M | Grant | – | – | |
| Jul 2009 | $283,690 | Grant | – | – | |
| Sep 2008 | $604,689 | Grant | – | – | |
| Sep 2008 | $283,690 | Grant | – | – |
5 investors in total: 5 institutional.
Investors in AskBio
AskBio has secured backing from 5 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Bayer, TPG and HHS.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Biomedical innovations are transformed into therapies by Vida Ventures. | vidaventures.com | Boston, United States | ||
Fund of funds focused on pre-seed and seed-stage companies | 1992 | tpg.com | Fort Worth, United States | |
Business development and leadership training programs are offered to companies. | 1991 | scottish-enterprise.com | Glasgow, United Kingdom | |
Public health and human services are overseen by HHS. | 1953 | hhs.gov | ||
Life science solutions for healthcare and agriculture are delivered. | 1863 | bayer.com | Leverkusen, Germany |
Investor details for AskBio
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
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People of AskBio
133 people are tracked at AskBio (74 in leadership, 3 in board & advisors, 56 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Jude Samulski | Co-Founder & CSO | Leadership |
Sheila Mikhail | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Kathleen Ward | Director Program Management | Leadership |
Jörg Votteler | Director | Leadership |
Brad Kennedy | Senior Director | Leadership |
Franky Choi | Director, IT PMO | Leadership |
Christian Schell | Director, Quality Assurance - Product Quality | Leadership |
Candace Summerford | Chief Patent Officer | Leadership |
Matt Fortier | Director, HRBP | Leadership |
Michael Wisniewski | VP Biostatistics | Leadership |
Marlina Nasution | Director, Biostatistics | Leadership |
Pamela Bahm | Director, GMP Supply | Leadership |
Amanda Lowder | Executive Assistant To Chief Executive Officer | Leadership |
Andrea Rossi Moore | Vice President, Analytical Development And Quality Control | Leadership |
Jacob Smith | Vice President, Process Development & Manufacturing | Leadership |
Jenny Siferd | Director Of Talent Attraction | Leadership |
Dylo Lisa Ratliff | Executive Assistant To Chief Technical Officer | Leadership |
Justin Whiteman | Director Pre-clinical Manufacturing | Leadership |
William D. | Director, IT Operations | Leadership |
Siewhui Low | Director, Clinical Development | Leadership |
113 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for AskBio
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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Investments & Acquisitions by AskBio
AskBio has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 2 companies. Notable acquisitions include Brain Vectis and Synpromics.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Developer of gene therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease | brainvectis.com | Paris, France | 2015 | Apr 2020 | •••• | |
Synthetic promoters are designed for specific gene regulation. | synpromics.com | Edinburgh, United Kingdom | 2010 | Aug 2019 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for AskBio
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Timeline of AskBio
6 dated milestones of AskBio across 19 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded AskBio is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $284K.
- Acquisition Acquires Synpromics.
- Acquisition Acquires Brain Vectis.
- Funding Latest funding round, Grant, of $2.7M.
- Exit Acquired by Bayer.
Competitors of AskBio
AskBio has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Spark Therapeutics, Amyris and Biogen.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sparktx.com | 2013 | Philadelphia, United States | $82.8M | 822 | Gene therapies for rare diseases including retinal dystrophies are developed. | |
| amyris.com | 2003 | Emeryville, United States | $487.2M | 747 | Developer of renewable products for industrial solutions | |
| biogen.com | 1978 | Cambridge, United States | $80M | 1 | Therapies for neurodegenerative and immunology disorders are developed. |
Detailed competitors of AskBio
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
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Web traffic of AskBio
The website of AskBio (askbio.com) receives about 14.3K visits a month and ranks #2,158,975 among all websites worldwide, #2,935 in Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals.
- Monthly visits14.3K
▲ 39% vs previous month
- Unique visitors4.5K
per month
- Global rank#2,158,975
among all websites
- Category rank#2,935
Health · Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals
- Bounce rate40%
- Pages per visit1.9
- Average visit27 sec
- DevicesDesktop 37% · Mobile 63%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with AskBio. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
insights.bio | insights.bio | 100% | #986,365 | – | |
biotechtv.com | biotechtv.com | 100% | #1,035,133 | – | |
clinicaltrialvanguard.com | clinicaltrialvanguard.com | 99% | #1,777,382 | – | |
precisionmedicineonline.com | precisionmedicineonline.com | 96% | #1,375,745 | – | |
pipelinereview.com | pipelinereview.com | 93% | – | ||
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for AskBio
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- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Genomics & Gene Therapy Platforms
3 companies that operate in the same segment as AskBio (Genomics & Gene Therapy Platforms) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mRNA-based therapeutics for diseases including cancer and infections are developed. | 2010 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | USD 2.78 B | USD 1.94 B | 5,800 | |
Digital sequencing technology for cancer detection is developed. | 2012 | Redwood City, California, United States | USD 557.5 M | USD 982.02 M | 4,867 | |
Circulating tumor DNA is screened for early cancer detection. | 2016 | Menlo Park, California, United States | USD 2 B | USD 147.17 M | 1,141 |
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Related news about Askbio
Complete news archive for AskBio
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Frequently Asked Questions about AskBio
AskBio was founded in 2001 and raised its 1st funding round 7 years after it was founded.
AskBio is headquartered in Durham, United States. It is registered at Durham, North Carolina, United States.
Sheila Mikhail is the CEO of AskBio, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
AskBio is a funded company, having raised a total of $235M across 8 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Grant of $283.69K, raised on Sep 2008.
AskBio was founded in 2001 in Durham, United States, and operates in the biotechnology sector. Novel protein and cellular-based therapies are developed and delivered using a proprietary platform of recombinant adeno-associated virus biological nanoparticles. This technology enables high transduction efficiency, controlled expression, and targeted tissue delivery. The product pipeline encompasses treatments for muscular dystrophy, hemophilia B in Phase 1 trials, congestive heart failure, epilepsy, retinitis pigmentosa, and osteoporosis.
AskBio's top competitors include Spark Therapeutics, Amyris and Biogen.
AskBio offers AAV Gene Therapy Platform and Discovery Program.
AskBio has made 2 acquisitions, including Brain Vectis, and Synpromics.
AskBio has 5 investors. Key investors include Bayer, TPG, HHS, Scottish Enterprise, and Vida Ventures.
AskBio operates through Synpromics Ltd.
Yes. AskBio was acquired by Bayer in October 2020.

