P2C invests $250K in Anvesana to help advance mRNA therapies
Anvesana developing treatments that modulate activity of messenger RNA
To help advance new treatments for hemophilia and other blood disorders, Pathway to Cures (P2C) has invested $250,000 in Anvesana, a company working to develop therapies based on RNA biology.
“Anvesana is delighted to be working with Pathway to Cures to develop therapeutics that will bring life altering cures to individuals suffering from the devastating effects of inheritable blood and bleeding disorders,” Eric Ekland, PhD, CEO of Anvesana, said in a press release.
Anvesana is focused on the development of potential therapies that work by modulating the activity of messenger RNA (mRNA). When genes are used or “read” to make protein, the genetic code is copied from a cell’s DNA into mRNA, a temporary version of the code that can be used as a template to make a protein.
Medications that modulate mRNA could serve range of therapeutic purposes
Modulating mRNA allows cells to fine-tune the activity of different genes, and by the same principle, medications that modulate mRNA could serve a wide range of therapeutic purposes. A major hurdle for this approach, however, is that there are thousands upon thousands of different types of mRNAs in a cell at any time, so it’s challenging to identify the right mRNAs to target for a therapeutic effect.
Anvesana’s platform includes a database storing information on thousands of possible mRNA sequences that can be found in a cell, as well as more than 250,000 annotations made by dozens of experts to help explain the function of different mRNA molecules. The company seeks to leverage this information to identify promising mRNA targets for specific therapeutic uses.
P2C is a venture philanthropy fund focused on investing in early-stage companies developing potential new treatments and technologies that hold promise to improve the lives of people living with hemophilia and other blood and disorders.
“Being able to support Anvesana in its early-stage research is an incredible step in launching our investment strategy to attract the best science and technology to the inheritable blood and bleeding disorder space,” said Teri Willey, managing director of P2C, an affiliate of the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation.
“Their unique scientific approach combined with our ability to help support their understanding of the challenges specific to the community of patients living with inheritable blood and bleeding disorders is a critical step toward addressing the unmet needs through innovative treatments,” she said.
This is the first major investment made by P2C.
“It is our hope this will be the first of many companies we can support in their journey to bring cures to patients,” Willey added.
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