About Translate Bio
Company Website: https://translate.bio
RaNA Therapeutics is a private biotechnology company using its proprietary RNA upregulation platform to discover and develop highly selective epigenetic modulators of gene expression. RaNA’s technology upregulates the expression of desirable genes that can prevent or treat disease. In contrast, traditional therapeutics silence the expression of disease-causing genes by destroying mRNA and blocking production of an unwanted gene product or are not specific. To achieve these pioneering effects, RaNA uses single-stranded oligonucleotides to target the repressive interactions of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) with specific genes of interest, thereby upregulating mRNA and increasing expression of the encoded protein. RaNA is applying its proprietary technology to develop new treatments in several therapeutic areas, with an initial emphasis in the fields of rare genetic disorders, oncology, metabolic diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company received initial seed funding from Atlas Venture in 2011 and raised a Series A financing in January of 2012, which included funding from Atlas Venture, MGH Partners Innovation, Monsanto and SR One. Our Name The capitalized “R”, “N”, and “A” in RaNA spell out RNA, the type of nucleic acid underlying our approach. The lowercase “a” represents activation. Together the letters stand for RNA activation, the very basis of our drug development approach.