- Forbion Growth co-leads the financing together with Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, with participation from RTW Investments, Nextech Invest, and other new investors
- Current investors Forbion Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, and ND Capital also participated
- AIRNA expected to file clinical trial application for Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) RNA editing product candidate (AIR-001) with potential best-in-class profile in 2H 2025
Naarden - The Netherlands – 01 April, 2025 – Forbion, a leading life sciences venture capital firm with deep expertise in Europe, today announces that it has co-led an oversubscribed $155 million Series B financing in AIRNA. AIRNA is a biotech company pioneering RNA editing therapeutics to transform the lives of patients with rare and common conditions.
The financing was led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, co-led by Forbion Growth, and included participation from Forbion Ventures, RTW Investments, Nextech Invest, ARCH Venture Partners, ND Capital, and other new and existing investors. AIRNA will use the proceeds to advance its lead RNA editing product candidate (AIR-001) for AATD into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, and to develop a pipeline of
novel RNA-editing medicines for cardiometabolic and other diseases.
AIRNA’s innovative approach to RNA editing has the distinctive potential to improve health across large populations by introducing healthy genetic variants for many conditions. We are excited to support the expansion of AIRNA’s pipeline of life-changing medicines and the advancement AIR-001 into the clinic.
Dirk Kersten
Managing Partner at Forbion
AIRNA's lead program in AATD holds the potential to be best-in-class, offering a groundbreaking solution for patients suffering from this debilitating condition. By targeting both lung and liver pathology, AIRNA's innovative approach addresses the critical needs of the AATD patient population, paving the way for improved health outcomes and quality of life.
Vanessa Carle
Senior Associate at Forbion
AATD is caused by mutations in the SERPINA1 gene that lead to insufficient levels of functional alpha-1 antitrypsin (M-AAT) protein, which results in lung and liver disease. AIR-001 precisely repairs the most common, harmful SERPINA1 mutation (PiZ) to address the underlying cause of both lung and liver disease and restore functional M-AAT production. AIR-001 was designed for potent and durable M-AAT production, convenient, subcutaneous dosing, and well-tolerated safety to give patients a preferred therapeutic option.
AIRNA is developing a new class of genetic medicines that could provide functional cures for a wide range of diseases.This partnership of new and existing investors allows us to rapidly deliver AIR-001 to patients with AATD, as well as progress a pipeline of medicines to realize the full potential of RNA editing.
Kris Elverum
President and Chief Executive Officer of AIRNA
AIRNA’s proprietary platform harnesses natural mechanisms to potently edit a target RNA with a safe and flexible medicine. Precise RNA editing has unique potential to safely introduce beneficial genetic variants that promote optimal health, in addition to repairing disease-driving mutations, such as those causing AATD. AIRNA identifies variants that drive health through human genetics and is developing new medicines to transform the lives of patients with cardiometabolic and other diseases.