AIRNA – a biotech company pioneering RNA editing therapeutics to restore patients’ health with rare and common diseases – recently emerged from stealth with a $30 million initial financing led by ARCH Venture Partners. This financing round enables AIRNA’s experienced team to advance a pipeline of RNA editing therapeutics driven by its robust and flexible RNA editing platform RESTORE+TM.
AIRNA’s co-founders Thorsten Stafforst, Jin Billy Li, Paul Vogel, and Tobias Merkle were the first to publish peer-reviewed papers showing ADAR-mediated RNA editing and using oligonucleotides to recruit endogenous ADAR for targeted RNA editing. And AIRNA’s RESTORE+ platform is a systematic advancement of this groundbreaking research that is generating a pipeline of best-in-class products by optimizing each therapeutic’s sequence, chemistry, and delivery for precise, efficient, and safe RNA editing.
RNA editing is considered a disruptive therapeutic modality with unique potential to unlock the full promise of genetically defined medicines for rare and common diseases. And ADAR-directed RNA editing delivers a safe oligonucleotide that is programmed to recruit an endogenous cellular enzyme, ADAR, to introduce a precise modification to a patient’s RNA, resulting in changes to the encoded therapeutic proteins.
As a first step, AIRNA is advancing the development of a best-in-class product candidate to treat the inherited genetic disease alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). And AIRNA is also actively pursuing a pipeline of proprietary programs with RESTORE+ to address multiple prevalent diseases with high unmet need.
AIRNA’s Leadership and Founders
– Kris Elverum, President and Chief Executive Officer, AIRNA, was previously CEO of Diagon Therapeutics, and held various senior management positions at Rubius Therapeutics, Turnstone Biologics and SQZ Biotech.
– Sriram Sathyanarayanan, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, AIRNA, was previously CSO at Codiak BioSciences, and held leadership positions at Jounce and Merck.
– Rodger Novak, MD, Board Chair, AIRNA, was co-founder and former Chairman and CEO of CRISPR Therapeutics, and serves on multiple biotech Boards.
– Paul Vogel, PhD, Founder and Vice President, AIRNA, has over 10 years of experience in site-directed RNA editing, studying in the labs of our scientific founders.
– Tobias Merkle, PhD, Founder, Senior Director, Platform at AIRNA, has 9 years RNA editing research experience and previously was a senior research scientist at Roche.
– Thorsten Stafforst, PhD, Founder, Professor at University of Tübingen – who has been pioneering ADAR-mediated RNA base editing since 2011 and was the first to publish on the field in peer review. Thorsten has co-authored more than 40 peer reviewed publications.
– Jin Billy Li, PhD, Founder, Associate Professor at Stanford University, has been studying ADAR-mediated RNA editing since 2006, and his lab has made significant contributions to ADAR-related biology and engineering. Billy has co-authored 83 peer reviewed publications.
KEY QUOTES:
“RNA editing is poised to lead the next generation of RNA therapeutics by targeting diseases not accessible through other approaches with a medicine that can be delivered to large patient populations. We are privileged to work with the pioneers of the RNA editing field, as founders of AIRNA, to advance our RESTORE+ technology platform and develop best-in-class therapeutics.”
– Kris Elverum, President and CEO of AIRNA
“Precisely editing RNA started as an idea in my lab over a decade ago. After making several technological improvements, I’m excited to see AIRNA advancing RNA editing therapeutics into precise medicines that could really impact patient’s lives.”
– Thorsten Stafforst, co-founder of AIRNA and professor at the University of Tübingen
“AIRNA has a uniquely powerful technology to maximize the therapeutic properties of RNA editing medicines and achieve the vision of restoring a patient’s health. We now have the capability to precisely rewrite RNA’s genetic instructions, which creates the potential to address a wide range of new targets and diseases.”
– Rodger Novak, AIRNA’s Board Chair
“The way AIRNA’s novel and specific approach achieves a broad range of therapeutic effects demonstrates the enduring power of deep scientific insights. The rigor and flexibility of AIRNA’s platform shows what can be achieved when top teams collaborate across continents.”
– Keith Crandell, Co-Founder and Managing Director at ARCH Venture Partners. Sean Kendall, Partner, Europe, at ARCH Venture Partners
