Back to Startup Insights

Ascidian Therapeutics

RNA exon editing company rewriting RNA to treat disease, inspired by sea squirts (ascidians); its platform replaces mutated exons in RNA transcripts, offering gene-therapy durability without DNA-editing risks.

Headquarters

Boston, USA

Year Founded

2022

Founders

Romesh Subramanian (founding CEO), Apple Tree Partners

Country

United States

Financial Information

Funding Stage

Series A

Recent Funding

$90M

Funding By

Apple Tree Partners, Lilly (collaboration)

Core Technology

RNA exon editing (trans-splicing)

Product Type

Drug

Pipeline Stage (Very Important)

Phase I/II (ACDN-01 for Stargardt disease)

Regulatory Status

  • IND Filed: Yes
  • FDA/EMA Status: FDA Clinical
  • Clinical Trial Registration: ACDN-01 Phase I/II (Stargardt disease)
  • Patents / IP Status: Filed

Partnerships

Pharma Collaborations

Eli Lilly (up to $1.9B renal disease collaboration)

Academic / Hospital Tie-ups

Apple Tree Partners ecosystem

CRO/CDMO Partnerships

Forge Biologics (manufacturing)

Market & Differentiation

RNA exon editing replaces multiple exons at once, avoiding DNA editing risks