A new RNAi biotech is breaking ground with $135 million and John Maraganore, Ph.D., holding the key to the city.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based company—called City Therapeutics—closed a series A financing round led by Arch Venture Partners, with participation from Fidelity Management & Research and Regeneron Ventures, among others.
The new biotech hopes to build new RNA interference (RNAi)-based medicines by engineering the molecules that mediate RNAi, dubbed small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). These siRNAs will be designed to expand the therapeutic reach of RNAi-based therapeutics, according to an Oct. 8 company release.
City’s first program is slated to enter clinical construction around the end of next year, with the biotech’s engine expected to churn out products for one to two investigational new drug applications each year, starting in 2026. The company intends to develop candidates across multiple therapeutic areas, according to the release.
City is currently led by Maraganore, founder and former CEO of RNAi specialist Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. Maraganore, who is the new biotech’s co-founder and executive chair, is joined by several other Alnylam alum, including Mark Keating, M.D., a former lead scientist at the company, who helped found City.
Meanwhile, Alnylam’s former senior director of research Tracy Zimmermann, Ph.D., now serves as City’s chief scientific officer.
“At Alnylam, we launched the birth of RNAi therapeutics as a new class of medicines, making a profound difference in the lives of patients with unmet needs,” Maraganore said in the Oct. 8 release.
“We see the potential for RNAi to emerge as the next major category of high-impact medicines, rivaling if not exceeding the success of monoclonal antibodies,” he added. “New innovation is needed to realize this future, and we believe City Therapeutics can lead this next chapter.”
Former Alnylam President and CEO of Sage Therapeutics Barry Greene serves on City’s board. He’s joined by fellow City co-founders Robert Nelson, the managing director and co-founder of Arch; Ari Nowacek, M.D., Ph.D., who is senior vice president of corporate development, plus a partner at Arch, and Sebastian Trousil, Ph.D., who is chief operating officer. Orbital Therapeutics CEO Ron Philip also has a seat.
Phillip Zamore, Ph.D., professor at the RNA Therapeutics Institute in the UMass Chan Medical School and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, as well as a co-founder of Alnylam, also helped co-create City.
City is the latest in a string of new biotechs with Maraganore’s support to unveil in recent days. Just yesterday, Judo Bio emerged with $100 million to develop oligonucleotide medicines targeting the kidney, with Maraganore on board as an advisor. In September, a new George Church-founded company raised $75 million for its “plug and play” cell therapy tech, with Maraganore joining as a board member.
Since leaving Alnylam in early 2022, the industry vet set out to serve as a creator and mentor for early biotechs, and it appears he’s doing just that.