BioInnovation Institute welcomes innovative smartRNA project to Bio Studio program

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, 14 March, 2024 – BioInnovation Institute (BII), an international non-profit foundation, incubating and accelerating world-class life science research, today announces that it has accepted a new project into its Bio Studio program to develop a small RNA-based platform technology for treating monogenic diseases caused by reduced protein levels, primarily haploinsufficiency disorders, which constitute a significant unmet medical need. The project, named smartRNA will be led by Søren Lykke-Andersen.

The approach to achieve this involves delivering an engineered small artificial (smart)RNA into the cell, where it assembles with endogenous protein co-factors to form an enzymatic complex. The smartRNA is customizable, designed to specifically target the disease-associated healthy pool of mRNA for stabilization. This stabilization delays mRNA degradation, allowing additional rounds of translation, resulting in increased levels of the functional protein. The technology has platform potential, as it leverages a universal small RNA pathway to target generic mRNA features.

Thus, the aim of the smartRNA project in BII’s Bio Studio program is to leverage this proprietary technology to develop treatments for currently untreatable disorders caused by haploinsufficiency or other monogenic diseases caused by reduced protein activity.

BII will support the project with an in-kind grant of up to 1M EUR per year for a project period of up to three years as well as with business development expertise, intellectual property support, access to investor network, and both wet lab and office infrastructure.

During the 3-year BII Bio Studio program, the objective of smartRNA is to deliver an in vitro proof-of-concept, a pseudo in vivo proof-of-principle, and in vitro benchmarking against established technologies.

Principal Investigator Søren Lykke-Andersen is a Senior Scientist at Aarhus University (AU), working at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. He leads a research group focused on RNA therapeutics and has extensive expertise in studying RNA, including practical laboratory work, advanced computational analysis of complex data sets, and more than 15 years of experience supervising students and technicians.

Søren Lykke-Andersen, Principal Investigator at the Aarhus University said: “There are around 350 confirmed and many more predicted haploinsufficiency diseases, including many serious conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, and developmental disorders. Thus, there is a high unmet medical need to develop effective methods to treat monogenic diseases caused by reduced protein levels, primarily haploinsufficiency disorders. With the support of BII, we will be able to translate our research into a superior customizable small RNA-based platform technology to achieve this”. 

Anja Mølhart Høg, Entrepreneur-in-Residence heading up the smartRNA project, added: “We are excited to welcome the smartRNA project to BII’s Bio Studio program. smartRNA is addressing an area with a significant unmet need - for the vast majority of haploinsufficiency diseases, there is a lack of disease-modifying treatment options. This innovative approach has the potential to transform the treatment landscape for haploinsufficiency diseases and to make a significant societal impact, offering hope and improved outcomes for patients worldwide through personalized medicine and precision therapeutics for rare diseases”.

Read more about the smartRNA project here.

The Bio Studio program is a recently established BII program with the ambition to build and run a leading life science company creation facility in Europe. This latest project joins collaborations announced last year with KU Leuven, University of Copenhagen, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Imperial College London, and Institute of Protein Design at University of Washington.

Since its inception in 2018, BII has supported 100 start-ups and projects with EUR 97 million alongside the venture capital, industry and business expertise it provides to help them accelerate to the next level.  In total, BII’s start-ups have raised over EUR 428 million in external funding from both local and international investors.  Recent company successes include Embark Laboratories, Adcendo, Stipe Therapeutics, Twelve Bio, Octarine Bio, and Cirqle Biomedical.

Read more about the Bio Studio program here.

About the BioInnovation Institute Foundation:

At BioInnovation Institute (BII), we accelerate world-class life science start-up innovation for the benefit of people and society. As a non-profit institute, BII operates the company creation programs, Bio Studio, Venture Lab and Venture House, to support life science start-ups with knowledge, network, infrastructure and funding of up to 3M EUR per projects and 1,8 M EUR per start-up. With our expertise, network, funding, and infrastructure, we empower startups to succeed and believe in the transformative power of life science innovation. Read more on www.bioinnovationinstitute.com

About Aarhus University

Established in 1928, Aarhus University has since developed into a major Danish university with a strong international reputation across the entire research spectrum. Rooted in strong disciplines, researchers and students have been generating new knowledge for over 90 years. Aarhus University is Denmark’s second-largest university, with 38,000 students, five faculties, research activities all over the country and campuses in Aarhus, Herning and Emdrup. Research and education of the highest international quality are at the core of its mission, and strong partnerships with our society are at the heart of our activities. Thanks to its size and reputation as a leading research-intensive university, Aarhus University has strong impact and influence across the entire spectrum of disciplines, locally, nationally and globally.