NRW.BANK invests in SRTD Biotech’s 31.5-million-euro financing round / Jülich biotech start-up develops novel RNA therapies

NRW.BANK is investing in a seed financing round for Jülich-based start-up SRTD Biotech totalling 31.5 million euros. The start-up is using its technology to develop novel RNA-based drugs. The aim is to treat serious diseases more effectively and with fewer side effects in the future. SRTD Biotech plans to use the funding to advance the preclinical development of drug candidates for cancer, autoimmune diseases and fibrosis.

“North Rhine-Westphalia has great potential in medical research and biotechnology. Turning new scientific approaches into effective therapies requires capital for development and translation into medical practice,” says Johanna Antonie Tjaden-Schulte, Member of NRW.BANK’s Managing Board. “By investing in SRTD Biotech, we are supporting a technology that can open up new ways to treat serious diseases. At the same time, we are strengthening North Rhine-Westphalia as a centre of innovation.”

Molecular switch designed to activate therapies selectively

Many therapies do not act only where disease is present. They can also affect healthy cells, causing serious side effects. SRTD Biotech, founded in 2019 by Dr. Bernd Hoffmann and Dr. Heribert Bohlen at Forschungszentrum Jülich, is addressing this challenge with its technology. The start-up is the first to develop RNA-based therapeutics that become active only in diseased cells. This could make treatments for serious diseases such as cancer more effective and better tolerated.

The new approach is based on selectively expressed RNA, or seRNA. This specially designed molecule enters cells in an inactive state. It is activated only when it detects specific characteristics of a diseased cell, prompting it to produce a protein that destroys that cell. In healthy cells, the molecule is simply broken down. The aim is to leave healthy tissue largely unaffected and significantly reduce the risk of side effects.

Beyond cancer treatment, potential applications include autoimmune diseases and viral and genetic disorders.

Growth capital for innovative companies

NRW.BANK is investing 7 million euros in SRTD Biotech’s financing round through its NRW.Venture EU Tech&Scale fund to support the biotech start-up’s continued growth in North Rhine-Westphalia. The fund targets highly innovative, capital-intensive scale-ups, particularly in deep tech, green tech, Industry 4.0, biotechnology, medical technology and digital solutions. Under its InvestEU partnership, a guarantee agreement with the European Commission enables NRW.BANK to invest up to 200 million euros in additional funding in young scale-ups through the fund.

The financing round is led by Mérieux Equity Partners. NRW.BANK and the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund are participating as co-lead investors. Other investors include Lilly Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and the Anobis family office.

For more information, visit www.nrwbank.de/tech-scale

Media contact: Caroline Fischer, Press Officer / Phone: +49 211 91741-1847 / e-mail: presse@nrwbank.de