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Secarna Pharmaceuticals

A discovery-stage biotechnology company developing antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapeutics designed to target disease-driving RNA. Secarna Pharmaceuticals combines proprietary oligonucleotide chemistry with AI-supported drug design to develop precision therapies for conditions that are difficult to treat with conventional approaches.

Company Overview

Secarna Pharmaceuticals develops antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics that modulate gene expression by binding to disease-relevant RNA targets. The company’s approach focuses on targets that are considered difficult or impossible to address with traditional small molecules or antibodies.

Its programs include both proprietary and partnered candidates across multiple disease areas, supported by internal discovery technologies and collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners.

Headquarters and Global Presence

Secarna Pharmaceuticals is headquartered in Martinsried, near Munich, Germany.

The company operates primarily as a discovery and preclinical development organization while collaborating internationally with industry and academic partners.

Founding and History

Secarna Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2015 to advance next-generation antisense oligonucleotide drug discovery.

Since its formation, the company has developed proprietary platforms for antisense design and has established multiple research collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners.

Therapy Areas and Focus

Secarna’s pipeline targets diseases where antisense therapeutics can provide selective gene modulation. Focus areas include:

Immuno-oncology
Inflammatory and fibrotic diseases
Central nervous system and neuromuscular disorders
Cardiometabolic diseases
Rare and genetic disorders

Technology Platforms and Modalities

The company develops antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics using proprietary discovery technologies.

Key platforms include:

OligoCreator®, an AI-enabled discovery platform integrating delivery technologies and computational design to identify optimized oligonucleotide candidates.
LNAplus™, a third-generation antisense platform designed to generate high-potency molecules with improved specificity and safety profiles.

These technologies aim to accelerate the discovery and preclinical development of RNA-targeting therapeutics.

Key Personnel

Konstantin Petropoulos, Chief Executive Officer
Alexander Gebauer, Chief Executive Officer (co-founder role in earlier leadership disclosures)

Strategic Partnerships

Secarna collaborates with pharmaceutical companies and research institutions to expand its pipeline and apply its antisense discovery platform.

Notable collaborations include:

Protalix BioTherapeutics, under a research and option agreement to develop antisense therapies for rare renal diseases.
Curie.Bio, where Secarna supports identification of oligonucleotide candidates for therapeutics startups created within the Curie venture platform.

The company has also entered partnerships with organizations such as Evotec, Denali Therapeutics and Scenic Biotech.

FAQ Section

Secarna develops antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics designed to regulate gene expression by binding to RNA targets associated with disease.

The company focuses on immuno-oncology, inflammatory diseases, fibrosis, central nervous system disorders and rare genetic diseases.

Secarna’s lead proprietary program is SECN-15, an antisense oligonucleotide targeting Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) that is being advanced toward IND-enabling studies.

The company’s discovery engine includes the OligoCreator AI-enabled platform and the LNAplus antisense chemistry platform.

Programs are primarily in discovery and preclinical development, with several candidates progressing toward IND-enabling studies.

Yes. The company collaborates with biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners to co-develop antisense therapeutics and apply its discovery platform.

Key milestones include advancement of SECN-15 into clinical development, expansion of strategic collaborations and continued growth of its antisense pipeline.

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