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Haya plans to use the funds to commence trials for HTX-001, initially aiming to target non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (nHCM). Credit: PanuShot / Shutterstock. Haya Therapeutics has procured $65m in Series A funding to expedite the clinical development of HTX-001 for treating heart failure. The financing also aims to support the expansion of its RNA-guided regulatory genome pipeline development engine. The Series A round was spearheaded by Earlybird Venture Capital and Sofinnova Partners. It also saw contributions from Eli Lilly, +ND Capital, ATHOS, LifeLink Ventures, and Alexandria Venture Investments. Additional financing came from current investors such as Apollo Health Ventures, BERNINA Bioinvest, and 4see ventures. Haya plans to use the funds to initiate clinical trials for the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), HTX-001, initially aiming to target non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (nHCM). Concurrently, the company aims to bolster its platform offerings and broaden its disease-modifying therapeutic pipeline, addressing conditions such as obesity, age-related diseases, and pulmonary fibrosis. GlobalData Strategic Intelligence US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate? Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis. By GlobalData Learn more about Strategic Intelligence Haya Therapeutics CEO and co-founder Samir Ounzain said: “This funding validates our organisation, pioneering approach, and vision for improving the way chronic and complex diseases are treated by creating a new generation of therapies that reprogramme disease-driving cell states into healthy ones. “We’re excited that Sofinnova Partners, Earlybird, and our syndicate of investors share our vision for the potentially industry-changing nature of our platform as we move beyond traditional approaches by leveraging novel therapeutic targets emerging from the regulatory genome.” The core of Haya’s platform lies in mapping and decoding the “dark genome”, the regulatory genome that constitutes 98% of the human genome. By combining integrated multimodal functional genomics with a proprietary computational stack and machine learning techniques, Haya claims to have created a comprehensive atlas of the regulatory genome. This platform is said to facilitate RNA-guided therapeutic development, offering scalability and speed. Haya’s approach aims to transcend symptom management by reprogramming cellular disease drivers. Last September, Eli Lilly teamed up with Haya Therapeutics in a $1bn deal to identify multiple regulatory-genome-derived RNA-based drug targets, as it looks for new targets in obesity.

After working off $20 million in seed funding for about four years, HAYA Therapeutics tapped the funding well and came back with $65 million to get its cardiac fibrosis treatment candidate into human trials. The Swiss biotech plans to use the Series A funds to help get HTX-001 into the clinic early next year, CEO Samir Ounzain told Endpoints News . It first wants to assess the long non-coding RNA-targeting candidate in patients with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. HAYA is one of a handful of drug developers working in the “dark genome” space, and the Series A, which was announced Thursday morning, marks a pivotal moment for the startup as it moves from a longstanding seed-stage outfit to a near-clinical company. Many preclinical biotechs, especially those trying to advance new scientific ideas, have struggled to weather the industry’s yearslong funding downturn. The biotech, which has about 40 employees, seeks to reprogram cell states that spur common, chronic and age-related diseases. It’s an ambitious mission, but HAYA now has blue-chip European investors like Sofinnova Partners and Earlybird Venture Capital to bankroll its R&D. Additional investors include ATHOS, +ND Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments and LifeLink Ventures, plus existing backers like Apollo Health Ventures and others. “What actually is driving outcomes in common and chronic disease? It’s cells changing identity. It’s cell stage changes,” Ounzain said. “What regulates cell state changes? It’s your environment and your common genetic variation that predisposes how you respond to the environment. Where are those signals interpreted by your cell? It’s in the dark genome. RNA produced from the dark genome transacts that and can be targeted. That resonated strongly with investors.” The capital injection arrives two months after HAYA named Richard Law as its chief business officer, highlighting the former Exscientia executive’s experience in biopharma dealmaking and fundraising. HAYA signaled outsider confidence in its platform last fall, when Eli Lilly stepped in for an up to $1 billion bet that the fledgling biotech could help the Indianapolis behemoth make new medicines for obesity and metabolic diseases. The companies kept mum on the specific breakdown of the upfront and milestone payments. Elsewhere in the dark genome space, NextRNA also forged a large pharma pact last year with Bayer in cancer. Meanwhile, Rome Therapeutics, which has the backing of multiple drug giants , laid off 17 employees in December as it refocused its pipeline on autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases and deprioritized other areas of dark genome research. Ounzain said HAYA may explore additional partnerships to take its platform into other therapeutic areas. Beyond its lead cardio drug, HAYA has a second project in the works for pulmonary fibrosis and a third idea generating steam for the tumor microenvironment, according to Ounzain.

After working off $20 million in seed funding for about four years, HAYA Therapeutics tapped the funding well and came back with $65 million to get its cardiac fibrosis treatment candidate into human trials. The Swiss biotech plans to use the Series A funds to help get HTX-001 into the clinic early next year, CEO Samir Ounzain told Endpoints News . It first wants to assess the long non-coding RNA-targeting candidate in patients with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. HAYA is one of a handful of drug developers working in the “dark genome” space, and the Series A, which was announced Thursday morning, marks a pivotal moment for the startup as it moves from a longstanding seed-stage outfit to a near-clinical company. Many preclinical biotechs, especially those trying to advance new scientific ideas, have struggled to weather the industry’s yearslong funding downturn. The biotech, which has about 40 employees, seeks to reprogram cell states that spur common, chronic and age-related diseases. It’s an ambitious mission, but HAYA now has blue-chip European investors like Sofinnova Partners and Earlybird Venture Capital to bankroll its R&D. Additional investors include ATHOS, +ND Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments and LifeLink Ventures, plus existing backers like Apollo Health Ventures and others. “What actually is driving outcomes in common and chronic disease? It’s cells changing identity. It’s cell stage changes,” Ounzain said. “What regulates cell state changes? It’s your environment and your common genetic variation that predisposes how you respond to the environment. Where are those signals interpreted by your cell? It’s in the dark genome. RNA produced from the dark genome transacts that and can be targeted. That resonated strongly with investors.” The capital injection arrives two months after HAYA named Richard Law as its chief business officer, highlighting the former Exscientia executive’s experience in biopharma dealmaking and fundraising. HAYA signaled outsider confidence in its platform last fall, when Eli Lilly stepped in for an up to $1 billion bet that the fledgling biotech could help the Indianapolis behemoth make new medicines for obesity and metabolic diseases. The companies kept mum on the specific breakdown of the upfront and milestone payments. Elsewhere in the dark genome space, NextRNA also forged a large pharma pact last year with Bayer in cancer. Meanwhile, Rome Therapeutics, which has the backing of multiple drug giants , laid off 17 employees in December as it refocused its pipeline on autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases and deprioritized other areas of dark genome research. Ounzain said HAYA may explore additional partnerships to take its platform into other therapeutic areas. Beyond its lead cardio drug, HAYA has a second project in the works for pulmonary fibrosis and a third idea generating steam for the tumor microenvironment, according to Ounzain.