She Raised Millions For Her BioTech Startup – With No Biology Background
Crystal Brown has no background in biology. She studied political science and women’s studies at the University of Michigan. Yet she has raised $3.3 million for CircNova, her AI-powered biotechnology company developing new therapies using circular RNA.
Since securing the seed funding earlier this year, the Detroit entrepreneur has split her time between Michigan and Boston, building partnerships with biotech heavyweights as she scales the company.
An Unlikely Journey To Biotech
Brown’s path to biotech began in Michigan’s automotive industry, where she was climbing toward an executive role. A friend’s introduction to a life science startup CEO changed everything. What started as a part-time bookkeeping job sparked a deep curiosity about the field.
Brown took a massive pay cut from her six-figure job to intern-level pay, according to TechCrunch. She immersed herself in the startup world, learning about fundraising and operations, eventually working her way up to director of operations. When the company went public, her payout was substantial enough to buy a house.
From Setback To Opportunity
Encouraged by that success, Brown launched her own biotech venture: a contract research lab. She spent two years building it, but the company burned through its funds, and she lost both the business and her home.
Still, the experience earned her credibility in Michigan’s startup community. Investors admired her resilience and determination, and told her they would back her next idea, Black Business reports. That chance came when biotech scientist Joe DeAngelo, formerly CEO of Neochromosome and chief scientific officer at Apex Bioscience, introduced her to circular RNA.
Circular RNA is a relatively newly discovered class of molecules shaped like a closed loop rather than a strand. Their structure may make them more stable and longer lasting than traditional, linear RNA. Scientists hope circular RNA could power a new generation of precise, long-lasting drugs and vaccines, though big hurdles remain, including large-scale manufacturing, targeted delivery, and proving safety and effectiveness in humans.
DeAngelo, now CircNova’s chief scientific officer, believes the technology could unlock treatments for diseases that currently have none. He shared scientific material with Brown daily, and in 2023, the two launched CircNova with just a $15,000 grant.
Building CircNova To Tackle “Untreatable” Diseases
CircNova’s core technology is its proprietary AI platform, NovaEngine, which designs and evaluates circular RNA molecules as potential therapies. “Think about the NovaEngine like OpenAI for RNA therapeutic data,” Brown told Michigan Business. “You’re coming to us for customizable molecule design and development.”
The Detroit-based startup runs both a computational platform and a wet lab in Ann Arbor, where it produces and tests the molecules NovaEngine identifies. Those experiments are further validated through a collaboration with the University of Michigan.
“We can reverse engineer. We can go from sequence to structure. We can go from structure to sequence when developing the molecule,” Brown told TechCrunch. The goal is ambitious: to tackle diseases that haven’t been treatable so far, including ovarian cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Recognition And Funding
CircNova’s $3.3 million seed round, completed in February, was led by South Loop Ventures with support from Union Heritage, Invest Detroit, Michigan Rise, and others. Investors say Brown’s adaptability and drive help her stand out in a field typically dominated by PhDs.
The momentum has continued. CircNova has been voted Up and Coming Company of the Year by the Michigan Venture Capital Association and was selected in July for the Google for Startups AI Academy, one of only 17 startups nationwide.
Image credit: Crystal Brown
