Working towards a crucial breakthrough in the way we treat disease: HAYA Therapeutics aims to revolutionise patients treatments by focusing on Dark Genome-derived RNAs, now recognised as the ‹Regulatory Genome› RNAs. Thanks to its innovative approach, the company has attracted the attention of American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. HAYA Therapeutics, which is supported by Innosuisse, is capitalising on this momentum to propel its technology to the forefront of the international scene and transform the treatment of certain diseases, while helping to increase health span.https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/efQfgutG5F8
Advances in medicine and technology mean that we now live much longer. However, major age-related chronic diseases, such as heart failure, cancerous solid tumours and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, among others, continue to pose health problems and affect millions of patients worldwide. HAYA Therapeutics is developing next-generation therapies. “The treatments that are currently available often focus on a single target or symptom, without always managing to treat the underlying causes of these diseases,” says Samir Ounzain, CEO and co-founder of HAYA Therapeutics.
Founded in 2019, the Lausanne-based company has developed an innovative platform capable of identifying previously unknow RNAs involved in various diseases and treating them with nucleic acid-based therapies. “While the pharmaceutical industry has long focused on proteins or protein-coding RNAs, we’re developing a therapeutic approach that targets long non-coding RNAs, i.e. RNAs that don’t code for proteins,” says Daniel Blessing, CTO and co-founder of HAYA Therapeutics. “These RNAs play a key role in regulating a number of essential cellular processes. They can also affect how cells function and how they react to changes. Our unique approach takes advantage of these RNAs’ high tissue specificity and their regulatory biological functions to reprogram diseased cells and return them to a healthy state.”
It’s an innovative technology that could provide treatments to people with a variety of rare, common or chronic diseases by reducing the disease’s progression or even stopping it completely, and relieving patients’ symptoms. “Our mission is to promote healthier ageing and to extend health span,” adds Blessing.
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A promising technology
HAYA Therapeutics recently entered into a multi-year agreement totalling one billion dollars with US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to support preclinical drug development efforts in the field of obesity. It’s a real mark of recognition for HAYA Therapeutics and its research. “This collaboration is one of the first large-scale partnerships in the field of non-coding RNAs,” says Ounzain. This is a key milestone for us and a clear indication of the progress we’ve made in this field in recent years.”
It is also a validation of the work that has been done so far – work that would not have been possible without the help of Innosuisse. “Innosuisse has been providing HAYA Therapeutics with invaluable support for many years,” says Blessing, who believes that this support has been instrumental in promoting the company’s technology on the international stage. Ounzain agrees: “The Start-up Coaching helped us evolve from a purely research-oriented approach to a more entrepreneurial and commercial mindset. In addition, the support offers from Innosuisse make it easier to connect with potential investors and partners as well as to finance innovative projects that would probably otherwise have been considered too risky or too expensive.”
Clinical trials on the horizon
This promising technology is expected to move to clinical trials in the near future. “Our goal is to advance our lead candidate, an antifibrotic agent, to human trials,” says Blessing. These trials should culminate in a first-time treatment for cardiac fibrosis. “This step should not only confirm the potential of our platform, but also make HAYA Therapeutics a clinical-stage innovator,” continues its CTO.
At the same time, the company continues to develop its product portfolio and explore new therapeutic targets to treat an even greater number of diseases.
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