Orna Therapeutics Announces Strategic Acquisition of ReNAgade Therapeutics to Strengthen Leadership in Circular RNA Therapies

Unifies world-class validated circular RNAs and industry-leading delivery technologies to advance a new panCAR™ in vivo CAR RNA therapeutics category for oncology and autoimmune diseases

Amit Munshi to the leading company for the position of general director

Former CEO of Orna Tom BarnesPh.D., to remain on the Board of Directors and chair the Scientific Advisory Board

WATER CITY i CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Orna Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on designing and delivering a new class of fully engineered circular RNA (oRNA) therapeutic drugs^®), today announced the acquisition of ReNAgade Therapeutics, a pioneer in unlocking the potential of RNA therapeutics that has demonstrated industry-leading delivery to multiple extrahepatic cells in non-human primate (NHP) models over the past 18 months.

Amit D. MunshiCEO of ReNAgade, will be successful Tom BarnesPh.D. to lead Orna as CEO.

“RNA-centric approaches have the potential to eclipse traditional cell therapy-based approaches and transform the future of medicine,” Munshi said. “This strategic acquisition brings together the strengths and capabilities of Orna and ReNAgade under one roof, expanding technology synergies and multiplying the companies’ deep and broad expertise to power a unique R&D engine focused on RNA therapeutics. Orna will now advance its industry-leading approach combining the company’s closed-loop RNA expression technology with ReNAgade’s broad portfolio of LNP-based RNA delivery systems and comprehensive editing programs to address the most pressing challenges in drug development.

An industry veteran of over 30 years, Mr. Munshi is the former president and CEO of Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., which he built with 300 million dollars market capitalization into a late clinical stage company prior to acquisition $6.7 billion by Pfizer. Dr. Barnes will retain his position on Orna’s Board of Directors and will serve as chair of its Scientific Advisory Board.

“Orna remains focused on developing the right tools and technologies and building the right company that can deliver an entirely new class of RNA-based medicines,” said Dr. Barnes, founder and CEO of Orna Therapeutics. “The combination of technologies makes Orna the leader in the best-in-class panCAR system Live CAR RNA therapies and expanding existing gene-editing delivery solutions to circular RNA to address vast unmet needs across multiple diseases.”

“Both Orna and ReNAgade were built on our bold vision to push the boundaries of RNA medicine,” said Ansbert Gadicke, MD, managing partner of MPM BioImpact. “Combining these industry leaders in circular RNA and delivery will transform the landscape of RNA therapeutics and accelerate the achievement of clinical trial milestones, leading to greater impact for patients suffering from cancer and autoimmune diseases. The combined company is supported by significant financial strength to achieve these milestones. “

Built by MPM BioImpact, both Orna and ReNAgade provide significant funding. Orna took off from 100 million dollars in series A financing in February 2021then announcing in August 2022 AND $221 million Series B in addition to strategic partnership. ReNAgade launched in May 2023 With 300 million dollars Series A financing. The combined company will have a strong pipeline of panCAR programs in oncology and autoimmune diseases, vaccine programs with Merck, and genetic disease programs.

About Orna Therapy
Orna Therapeutics was founded on research conducted by Alex WesselhoeftPhD i Daniel G. AndersonPhD, with MYTH. It is engaged in the design and delivery of a new class of fully modified circular RNAs (oRNAs^®) therapies that can change the way diseases are treated. Orna’s proprietary platform combines novel technology for designing circular RNA transcripts that drive protein expression with validated and unique delivery solutions. oRNA^® has many advantages over traditional mRNA approaches, including simplified manufacturing, improved formulabability, and superior protein expression – making it a highly disruptive new class of RNA therapeutics with enormous potential to change patients’ lives. To learn more, visit www.ornatx.com and keep following Orna Therapeutics X AND LinkedIn.

About ReNAgade therapy
ReNAgade exists to unlock the potential of RNA medicines to treat disease anywhere in the body. It combines novel RNA delivery platforms with an end-to-end RNA platform, enabling a pure RNA-based system for encoding, editing and introducing genes for drug discovery. To accelerate the future of medicine, ReNAgade brings together a team with deep knowledge of RNA and delivery to develop paradigm-changing RNA medicines.

SOURCE Orna Therapeutics