HoudiniBio takes its name from Jewish escapologist Harry Houdini, born Erik Weisz.
By Shula Rosen
London-based startup HoudiniBio has raised £1.5 million to advance an AI-powered technology designed to make gene therapies more effective and less expensive by preventing patients’ cells from shutting down therapeutic genes.
HoudiniBio takes its name from Jewish escapologist Harry Houdini, born Erik Weisz. Cohen-Gold and Lehner are both members of Beth Shalom Reform Synagogue in Cambridge, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
The company, which recently emerged from stealth, was co-founded in 2025 by CEO Jonathan Cohen-Gold and chief business officer Lee Dunham.
Cohen-Gold, 32, developed the scientific foundation for the technology while completing his PhD in molecular medicine at the University of Cambridge.
Gene therapies are being developed to treat conditions including haemophilia, cystic fibrosis, dementia, inherited blindness and cancer, but producing them can be prohibitively expensive. A single dose for one patient can cost the NHS £3 million.
HoudiniBio is targeting a cellular defense mechanism known as the Human Silencing Hub, or Hush, complex.
The system, discovered by Cohen-Gold’s Cambridge supervisor, Professor of Immunology Paul Lehner, protects DNA by shutting down genetic material that appears to come from a virus. However, it can also suppress therapeutic genes introduced to treat disease.
During his doctoral research, Cohen-Gold studied how some DNA sequences escape detection by Hush. HoudiniBio now uses an AI-powered DNA design engine to apply those findings to gene therapies.
A gene can be encoded in billions of different ways while retaining its therapeutic function. HoudiniBio’s models analyze DNA sequences, identify sections likely to trigger Hush and redesign the sequence to make it more resistant to the cellular defense system.
Pharmaceutical companies can bring gene therapies to HoudiniBio for the process, which Cohen-Gold describes as providing genetic “camouflage.”
The approach could allow treatments to work with smaller doses, reducing costs and potential side effects while improving their effectiveness over time, Cohen-Gold said.
The company has demonstrated the technology in laboratory testing and has begun trials in mice. Human clinical trials could begin in three to five years.
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