City Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based biopharmaceutical company which specializes in RNA interference -based medicine, raised $135M in Series A funding.
The round was led by ARCH Venture Partners with participation from Fidelity Management & Research Company, Invus, Slate Path Capital, Rock Springs Capital, Regeneron Ventures, AN Ventures and others undisclosed investors.
The company intends to use the funds to advance innovations in siRNA design, delivery and targeting that enable improved potency and specificity, broader access across more tissue types, and expanded opportunities in multiple therapeutic areas.
City Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that provides an siRNA-engineering platform aimed at designing, improving and optimizing RNAi-based medicines. Platform pillars include:
- The design of novel RNAi triggers, including those with smaller size, novel cellular mechanisms and improved potency, efficiency and specificity. Examples include cleavage-inducing tiny (city) RNAs that induce target mRNA cleavage through distinct proteins to silence gene expression.
- Targeting ligands for specific and enhanced delivery of engineered siRNAs to a broader range of cells and tissue types.
- Leveraging advancements and insights in human genetics to address both novel and validated therapeutic targets and optimize clinical development.
City Therapeutics is building a pipeline of innovative RNAi therapeutics, with its lead program expected to enter clinical development at or around the end of 2025. Thereafter, the company’s product engine is aimed at delivering a sustainable flow of high impact RNAi-based medicines, with one to two new Investigational New Drug applications (INDs) per year starting in 2026.
Its management team and board members include:
- Barry Greene, board member; CEO of Sage Therapeutics and former President of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
- John Maraganore, Ph.D., co-founder and executive chairman; former/founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
- Robert Nelsen, co-founder and board member; managing director and co-founder of ARCH Venture Partners
- Ari Nowacek, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and SVP, corporate development; partner at ARCH Venture Partners
- Ron Philip, board member; CEO of Orbital Therapeutics and former CEO of Spark Therapeutics
- Sebastian Trousil, Ph.D., co-founder and chief operating officer; formerly at RTW Investments
- Tracy Zimmermann, Ph.D., CSO; former chief development officer of Generation Bio and former senior director, research at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Additional co-founders and advisors include:
- Mark Keating, M.D., co-founder; former lead scientist at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
- Kotaro Nakanishi, Ph.D., co-founder; professor of biochemistry at The Ohio State University
- Yukihide Tomari, Ph.D., co-founder; professor in the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences at The University of Tokyo
- Hans-Peter Vornlocher, Ph.D., scientific advisor; senior advisor to Axolabs
- Phillip D. Zamore, Ph.D., co-founder; chair and professor, RNA Therapeutics Institute of UMass Chan Medical School and investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; former co-founder of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
