​​Non-dilutive funding of 1.5M CHF will be used to develop a novel therapy targeting cancer-associated fibroblast-specific long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)
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LAUSANNE, Switzerland and SAN DIEGO, USA – Feb. 12, 2025 – HAYA Therapeutics, SA, a biotechnology company pioneering precision RNA-guided regulatory genome targeting therapeutics for rare, common, chronic and age-associated diseases, announced that it has been awarded the prestigious Innosuisse Certificate for Sustainable Growth from Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency, who also provided funding to support HAYA’s research into using its technology to address cancer.

In addition to Innosuisse’s award for HAYA’s potential for growth and success, it is providing 1.5M CHF (approximately $1.64M USD) in non-dilutive funding for HAYA through Innosuisse’s Start-up Innovation Projects, recognizing HAYA’s cutting-edge approach and broad applicability of their long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) platform in developing disease-modifying therapeutics beyond the heart and into oncology.

The funds will be used over the next two years for translational studies to further develop an innovative therapy targeting cancer-associated fibroblast-specific lncRNA for aggressive solid tumors.

“Solid tumors, which make up approximately 90% of all cancers, require innovative therapeutic strategies due to their complexity and resistance to traditional treatments,” said Samir Ounzain, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of HAYA Therapeutics. “Fibrosis plays a critical role in shaping the tumor microenvironment, creating a rigid and immunosuppressive barrier that fuels cancer progression and limits treatment efficacy. At HAYA, we are pioneering a novel RNA-guided approach to precisely reprogram cancer-associated fibroblasts, disrupting the fibrotic niche and unlocking new possibilities for more effective and durable cancer therapies.”

“By leveraging the exquisite cell specificity of lncRNAs coupled with antisense oligonucleotide’s broad distribution to extra hepatic tissues including tumors, HAYA is able to drug disease modifying targets within the tumor microenvironment. This novel paradigm holds tremendous potential as a next generation treatment strategy for immunotherapy resistant solid tumors such as for pancreatic cancer and triple negative breast cancer,” said Sudhir Agrawal, DPhil, FSRC, a member of HAYA’s scientific advisory board and Founder of Arnay Sciences. “HAYA’s strategy could be transformational and offer disease-modifying therapy options to patients in need.”

HAYA’s unique RNA-guided regulatory genome technology enables the discovery and development of innovative RNA-based therapeutics for a wide range of diseases. HAYA’s lead candidate, HTX-001, is being developed for the treatment of heart failure, with other preclinical therapeutics in development for other indications.

About HAYA Therapeutics

HAYA Therapeutics is a precision medicines company developing programmable therapeutics targeting regulatory RNAs derived from the dark genome, a cell information processing unit, to reprogram pathological cell states for a broad range of diseases, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and cancer. The company is using its innovative platform to gain novel insights into the biology of disease cell states and the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that regulate them. HAYA’s lead therapeutic candidate is HTX-001, in development for the treatment of heart failure. HAYA is also developing a pipeline of lncRNA-targeting precision therapies for the cell-specific treatment of diseases in other tissues.

HAYA is headquartered at the life sciences park Biopôle in Lausanne, Switzerland with laboratory facilities at JLABS @ San Diego. For more information on the company, please visit our website at www.hayatx.com. Follow us on X and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

Tim Ingersoll

Email: tim@linndencom.com