# AskBio (Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc.)
Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio) is a [Durham, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/durham-north-carolina) biotechnology company, founded in 2001 by gene therapy researcher Jude Samulski, scientist [Xiao Xiao](https://www.edgepedia.org/xiao-xiao), and CEO Sheila Mikhail, that develops and manufactures adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapies for rare genetic disorders; Bayer AG agreed in October 2020 to acquire it for USD 2 billion upfront plus up to USD 2 billion in milestone payments, and AskBio describes itself on its website as a wholly owned, independently operated Bayer subsidiary since late 2020.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1352189/000135218919000003/0001352189-19-000003.txt) • [2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) • [3](https://www.askbio.com/bayer-acquires-askbio-to-broaden-innovation-base-in-cell-and-gene-therapy/) • [4](https://www.askbio.com/who-we-are/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legal name and base | Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered at 20 TW Alexander Drive, Durham, NC 27709[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1352189/000135218919000003/0001352189-19-000003.txt) |
| Founded | 2001, by Jude Samulski, Xiao Xiao, and Sheila Mikhail[2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) |
| Business | Development and manufacture of AAV gene therapies for rare genetic disorders[2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) |
| Funding | $199,717,114 sold across Form D offerings to 33 investors (filed May 29, 2019); $235 million announced April 2019 ($225 million from TPG Capital and Vida Ventures plus $10 million from founders and board members)[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1352189/000135218919000003/0001352189-19-000003.txt) • [2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) |
| Outcome | Bayer agreed on October 26, 2020 to acquire AskBio for $2 billion upfront plus up to $2 billion in success-based milestones[3](https://www.askbio.com/bayer-acquires-askbio-to-broaden-innovation-base-in-cell-and-gene-therapy/) |
| Status | The company's own description (independently unconfirmed in the retrieved record): a wholly owned, independently operated Bayer subsidiary since late 2020[4](https://www.askbio.com/who-we-are/) |
| Manufacturing | Pro10 process yielding \(10^{18}\) viral particles in 200-liter bioreactors; used by Pfizer, Takeda, and Viralgen Vector Core SA[2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) |
## History and founding
AskBio was created in 2001 to commercialize AAV gene therapy research that Jude Samulski had pioneered as a professor at the [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill).[5](https://businessnc.com/durhams-askbio-led-by-samulski-and-mikhail-sells-for-4b/) Samulski is credited in company and press materials as the first scientist to clone AAV, the small virus whose shell is used as a delivery vehicle to carry therapeutic genes into patient cells.[2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) Co-founder Xiao Xiao developed the first miniaturized dystrophin gene, a shortened version of the gene mutated in [Duchenne muscular dystrophy](https://www.edgepedia.org/duchenne-muscular-dystrophy) that fits inside an AAV vector and has informed a range of Duchenne development programs.[2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) • [6](https://endpoints.news/ask-who-jude-samulskis-gene-therapy-company-just-raised-235m-for-clinical-development/) Sheila Mikhail, the company's chief executive, also served as CEO, treasurer, secretary, and a director on the company's 2019 SEC filing, with Samulski listed as president and chief science officer.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1352189/000135218919000003/0001352189-19-000003.txt)
A distinctive feature of the company's history is its spinout strategy: rather than developing every platform in-house, AskBio formed separate companies around particular programs. Since 2001 it spun out four gene therapy companies: NanoCor Therapeutics, Chatham Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics, and Actus Therapeutics.[7](https://www.ncbiotech.org/news/gene-therapy-pioneer-askbio-agrees-blockbuster-acquisition-bayer)
Two of the spinouts were acquired. Chatham Therapeutics, focused on hemophilia A and B, was bought by [Baxter International](https://www.edgepedia.org/baxter-international) (whose hemophilia portfolio now sits with Takeda) for $70 million upfront plus additional milestone payments. Bamboo Therapeutics, where Mikhail was CEO and which targeted Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other rare diseases, raised $50 million and was sold to Pfizer in 2016 for $150 million upfront plus up to $495 million in milestones; Business North Carolina valued that deal at $827 million overall.[7](https://www.ncbiotech.org/news/gene-therapy-pioneer-askbio-agrees-blockbuster-acquisition-bayer) • [5](https://businessnc.com/durhams-askbio-led-by-samulski-and-mikhail-sells-for-4b/) • [2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures)
## Technology and manufacturing
AskBio's industrial position rests substantially on manufacturing. Its Pro10 process yields \(10^{18}\) viral particles in 200-liter bioreactors, and the company states it is used by Pfizer, Takeda, and Viralgen Vector Core SA, an AAV manufacturer with which AskBio has a manufacturing relationship.[2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) • [8](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1453687/000145368719000096/selectabiosciences8k_askbi.htm)
The company's intellectual property covers AAV production, chimeric capsids (engineered viral shells that change which tissues the vector reaches) and self-complementary DNA constructs. At the time of the 2019 financing round it held more than 500 patents in these areas.[2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) • [3](https://www.askbio.com/bayer-acquires-askbio-to-broaden-innovation-base-in-cell-and-gene-therapy/) Its own website claims more than 350,000 square feet of lab, research, and in-house AAV manufacturing space, and a portfolio of over 800 patents and patent applications; these are company figures rather than independently verified ones.[4](https://www.askbio.com/who-we-are/)
## Funding history (by the numbers)
AskBio's SEC Form D record shows total securities sold of $199,717,114, with none remaining unsold, across 33 investors, in a filing dated May 29, 2019.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1352189/000135218919000003/0001352189-19-000003.txt) That filing followed the round announced on April 11, 2019: TPG Capital and [Vida Ventures](https://www.edgepedia.org/vida-ventures) invested $225 million for a minority stake, and AskBio's founders and board members co-invested $10 million, for a stated total of $235 million.[2](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures) Business North Carolina described it as the largest capital raise by a North Carolina bioscience company.[5](https://businessnc.com/durhams-askbio-led-by-samulski-and-mikhail-sells-for-4b/)
The company also monetized through partnerships. In August 2019 it signed a feasibility study and license agreement with Selecta Biosciences to test whether Selecta's ImmTOR immune-tolerizing technology could enable re-dosing of AAV gene therapies; proof-of-concept work targeted methylmalonic acidemia. AskBio was responsible for manufacturing the AAV capsids and vectors, costs and profits were to be shared equally, and the parties contemplated a possible joint venture.[8](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1453687/000145368719000096/selectabiosciences8k_askbi.htm)
## The Bayer acquisition and current status
On October 26, 2020, Bayer announced an agreement to acquire AskBio for upfront consideration of USD 2 billion plus potential success-based milestone payments of up to USD 2 billion, with about 75 percent of the contingent payments expected to fall due within five years of closing.[3](https://www.askbio.com/bayer-acquires-askbio-to-broaden-innovation-base-in-cell-and-gene-therapy/) The deal, which valued the company at roughly $4 billion including milestones according to Business North Carolina, brought Bayer AskBio's Pro10 manufacturing process, its AAV capsid and promoter library, and a contract manufacturing operation, complementing Bayer's 2019 acquisition of BlueRock Therapeutics in cell therapy.[3](https://www.askbio.com/bayer-acquires-askbio-to-broaden-innovation-base-in-cell-and-gene-therapy/) • [5](https://businessnc.com/durhams-askbio-led-by-samulski-and-mikhail-sells-for-4b/) Minority shareholders TPG Capital and Vida Ventures supported the transaction, which was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.[7](https://www.ncbiotech.org/news/gene-therapy-pioneer-askbio-agrees-blockbuster-acquisition-bayer)
The retrieved record does not include an independent confirmation of the closing itself, but AskBio's own website states that it became a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG in late 2020 and describes itself as a cornerstone of Bayer's Cell & Gene Therapy Platform.[4](https://www.askbio.com/who-we-are/)
## Pipeline and partnerships at acquisition
At the time of the Bayer announcement, AskBio's lead research programs, in Pompe disease (a rare glycogen-storage disorder), [Parkinson's disease](https://www.edgepedia.org/parkinsons-disease), and congestive heart failure, were in early phases of clinical development. The company also had out-licensed indications in hemophilia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, held by the acquirers of its Chatham and Bamboo spinouts.[3](https://www.askbio.com/bayer-acquires-askbio-to-broaden-innovation-base-in-cell-and-gene-therapy/) The Selecta ImmTOR collaboration on re-dosing, signed the year before, added a technology bet on whether AAV therapies could be administered more than once.[8](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1453687/000145368719000096/selectabiosciences8k_askbi.htm)
## References
1. [SEC Form D, Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (filed May 29, 2019)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1352189/000135218919000003/0001352189-19-000003.txt)
2. [AskBio Partners with TPG and Vida Ventures (TPG, April 11, 2019)](https://www.tpg.com/news-and-insights/askbio-partners-tpg-and-vida-ventures)
3. [Bayer Acquires AskBio to Broaden Innovation Base in Cell and Gene Therapy (AskBio press release, October 26, 2020)](https://www.askbio.com/bayer-acquires-askbio-to-broaden-innovation-base-in-cell-and-gene-therapy/)
4. [AskBio: Who We Are (company website)](https://www.askbio.com/who-we-are/)
5. [Durham's AskBio, led by Samulski and Mikhail, sells for $4B (Business North Carolina)](https://businessnc.com/durhams-askbio-led-by-samulski-and-mikhail-sells-for-4b/)
6. [Jude Samulski's gene therapy company just raised $235M for clinical development (Endpoints News)](https://endpoints.news/ask-who-jude-samulskis-gene-therapy-company-just-raised-235m-for-clinical-development/)
7. [Gene Therapy Pioneer AskBio Agrees to Blockbuster Acquisition by Bayer (NC Biotechnology Center)](https://www.ncbiotech.org/news/gene-therapy-pioneer-askbio-agrees-blockbuster-acquisition-bayer)
8. [Selecta Biosciences Form 8-K on Feasibility Study and License Agreement with AskBio (August 6, 2019)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1453687/000145368719000096/selectabiosciences8k_askbi.htm)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Business and work › Business and work overview › Companies and corporations › Venture-backed startups and growth companies › Health, biotech, and medtech startups › Cell and gene therapy developers › Gene editing and genomic medicines*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license