'; setTimeout(function() { var videoIframe850178522624685387Actual = document.getElementById("video-iframe-850178522624685387").contentDocument; videoIframe850178522624685387Actual.open().write(videoIframe850178522624685387Content); videoIframe850178522624685387Actual.close(); }, 500);

​RNAissance Therapeutics was founded by a passionate group of life science professionals from across the globe with a particular interest in taking science from the bench to market. We decided to use our diverse skill set from various disciplines to compete in The Center for Advancing Innovation and NIH Nanotechnology Startup Challenge in Cancer after seeing the success of previous challenges. After careful consideration and long debates we decided to move forward with one of the most challenging yet most promising technologies, invention 2, which combines RNAi and nanotechnology. Cancer is brought about by genetic alterations that allow cells to grow uncontrollably; the use of siRNA enables us to correct these alterations resulting in the death of the cancerous cells. Currently available technologies only target one of these alterations at a time using chemical compounds or antibodies leading to the development of resistance to that therapy. However, our approach will allow us to target up to 6 of these alterations at any one time so that we can deliver more effective therapies to tumors than is currently achievable.

We will start by applying our technology to develop a treatment for Glioblastoma, a brain tumor that despite having several targetable genetic alterations has no cure. If successful, this technology has the potential to benefit the 26,000 people that get the disease each year. So far, we have received very positive feedback from leading medical experts in the field as well as from the patients themselves both of whom recognized the vast potential of the technology. Our mission is to build a strong development pipeline in order to help these patients, but in the long term we aim to expand that out to other cancers focusing in particular on those with limited treatment options.

Our participation in the CAI and NIH Nanotechnology Startup Challenge in Cancer has been quite an adventurous ride so far. It is no secret that building a startup requires a lot of time, dedication, and ambition. However, being able to observe one’s own progress as we develop our business from ideation to implementation is just as rewarding. We are very appreciative of the many people, and especially the members of the Center for Advancing Innovation, who guided us along the way and helped us to avoid common pitfalls. We particularly enjoy the plethora of webinars on all aspects of business development, which have turned the competition into a highly immersive experience. The opportunities to directly reach out to the speakers and discuss our individual concerns greatly accelerated our efforts. Likewise, having been able to engage with stakeholders such as clinicians, pharma representatives, and policy makers provided us with invaluable insights into desirable features of novel therapeutics. It is very encouraging to see the depth of interest we can spark with our business endeavor. 

Yet, building a startup also requires learning how to navigate rough waters. As with a lot of new technologies, people have a tendency to be skeptical – sometimes for good reasons, other times out of fear for uncertainty. We as a team had to learn how to tell apart constructive criticism from a general inertia to change. Moreover, we were facing the challenge to convince experts of the promise of our nascent technology with limited access to data, which put us in what one could describe as a chicken and egg situation. Within the competition, we have learned that developing a compelling business plan does not solely rely on preliminary data but also on a thorough risk analysis. By doing so, we were able to develop respective action plans that will help us to minimize the impact of unfavorable scenarios and therefore attract greater investor interest. -Anna Perdrix and Nina Kloss

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.