HAYA Therapeutics Raises $65 Million Series A to Advance RNA-Guided Therapies for Heart Failure and Fibrotic Diseases
HAYA Therapeutics, a Swiss biotech company developing precision medicines that target long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), has secured US$65 million in a Series A financing round to advance its RNA-guided therapeutic platform for chronic and age-related diseases. The financing will accelerate clinical development of its lead candidate, HTX-001, designed to treat heart failure, and will support expansion of HAYA’s broader pipeline into conditions such as pulmonary fibrosis and obesity.
The round was led by Sofinnova Partners and Earlybird Venture Capital, with participation from Eli Lilly and Company, ATHOS, +ND Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, and LifeLink Ventures. Existing investors including Apollo Health Ventures, Longview Ventures (an affiliate of Broadview Ventures), 4See Ventures, BERNINA BioInvest, and Schroders Capital also joined the round.
HAYA’s lead therapy candidate, HTX-001, is a modified antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) that targets the lncRNA known as Wisper, a cardiac tissue-enriched driver of fibrosis. Its initial development focuses on non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (nHCM), a severe form of heart failure characterized by cardiac remodeling and fibrosis for which few effective treatments exist. By silencing Wisper, HAYA aims to halt or reverse fibrotic processes in the heart, addressing one of the key mechanisms behind chronic cardiovascular disease.
In addition to the Series A financing, HAYA previously completed a CHF 18 million seed round in 2021 led by Broadview Ventures with participation from Apollo Health Ventures, BERNINA BioInvest, 4See Ventures, Schroder Adveq, and Viva BioInnovator. The company has also received funding from the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse to support research collaborations in cardiac fibrosis and oncology-related lncRNA targets.
The newly raised capital will be used to launch and accelerate clinical studies for HTX-001, further refine the company’s RNA discovery and design engine, and expand its focus to other fibrotic and metabolic diseases. HAYA’s technology platform, DiscoverHAYA™, integrates advanced RNA profiling, bioinformatics, and molecular biology to identify and validate disease-driving lncRNAs. The company’s long-term goal is to translate these discoveries into a new class of precision medicines that can selectively target disease mechanisms in specific tissues.
Founded in Lausanne, Switzerland, with additional facilities in San Diego, HAYA Therapeutics was established in 2019 to commercialize discoveries from academic research on long non-coding RNAs and fibrosis biology. The company’s scientific foundation builds on decades of research into how the “dark genome”—the 98% of the genome that does not code for proteins—contributes to disease. By focusing on lncRNAs that regulate tissue remodeling, inflammation, and fibrosis, HAYA aims to pioneer new therapeutic modalities for chronic diseases that currently lack curative options.
The Series A funding marks a significant milestone for HAYA as it transitions from preclinical to early clinical development. The participation of leading biotech investors and major pharmaceutical partners reflects growing confidence in the therapeutic potential of RNA-based approaches beyond traditional mRNA or siRNA applications. HAYA’s combination of deep scientific expertise, regulatory RNA targeting, and a scalable discovery platform positions it to play a leading role in the next wave of RNA medicine innovation.
With this investment, HAYA plans to broaden its team, strengthen manufacturing capabilities for antisense therapeutics, and advance multiple pipeline candidates toward clinical validation. The company’s long-term strategy involves not only tackling cardiac and fibrotic diseases but also extending its RNA-guided approach to metabolic and oncology indications. As it moves forward, HAYA Therapeutics aims to redefine how RNA-targeted medicines are designed and delivered—opening the door to treatments that can precisely modulate the molecular root causes of chronic and age-related diseases.
