R&D

The launch of new RNA company Inverna Therapeutics was announced earlier this month. Inverna Therapeutics begins with a programme aimed at transforming patient outcomes for those with Huntingdon’s disease. Huntingdon’s disease is hereditary, and the condition stops parts of the brain from working over a length of time.

Inverna Therapeutics stated that one of its aims is to harness sequence-based splice modulation, claiming the approach had revolutionary potential and could overcome the limitations of conventional RNA therapeutics. Opening the door for a wider range of opportunities, the approach could aide in the overall goal of Inverna, which is to provide safer and more effective treatments for patients with long-term debilitating diseases, according to the press release.

“We are thrilled to introduce Inverna to the world,” said Poul Sørensen, chief executive officer of Inverna and partner and entrepreneur-in-residence at Argobio. “Our team, combined with the strong support of Argobio and the University of Southern Denmark, is uniquely positioned to develop transformative therapies that address significant unmet medical needs. Leveraging our proprietary insights into RNA splicing modulation, our pseudo-exon targeting technology offers apotential solution to limitations of current RNA therapeutics by enabling precise, sequence-based and allele-specific targeting with minimal off-target effects.

International expert on RNA splicing Professor Brage Storstein Andersen provided research which aided in the foundation of the company. Thomas Schmidt, head of Technology Transfer at the University of Southern Denmark stated: “The launch of Inverna Therapeutics exemplifies the University of Southern Denmark’s commitment to transforming world-class research into real-world impact. Through our collaboration with Argobio and the visionary leadership of Professor Brage Storstein Andresen, we are proud to contribute to the development of groundbreaking therapies that address critical unmet medical needs."