AIRNA, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech company advancing RNA editing therapeutics, raised $155M in Series B funding.
The round was led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners and Forbion Growth, with participation from RTW Investments, Nextech Invest, ARCH Venture Partners, Forbion Ventures, ND Capital, and other new and existing investors. Alongside this financing, AIRNA announced the appointment of Melissa McCracken, Ph.D., a partner at Nextech Invest, to the Board of Directors.
The company intends to use the funds to advance its lead RNA editing product candidate (AIR-001) for AATD into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, and to develop a pipeline of novel RNA-editing medicines for cardiometabolic and other diseases.
Co-founded by Thorsten Stafforst and Jin Billy Li, and led by Kris Elverum, President and Chief Executive Officer, AIRNA provides a proprietary platform that studies natural mechanisms to potently edit a target RNA with a safe and flexible medicine. Precise RNA editing has the potential to safely introduce beneficial genetic variants that promote optimal health, in addition to repairing disease-driving mutations, such as those causing AATD. It identifies variants that drive health through human genetics, and is developing new medicines to transform the lives of patients with cardiometabolic and other diseases.
The company has research operations in Tübingen, Germany.
FinSMEs
01/04/2025