SRTD Biotech Raises ~$35M Seed Led by Mérieux for Precision mRNA Drugs

SRTD Biotech, a Jülich, Germany-based developer of precision mRNA therapeutics, has raised an oversubscribed €31.5 million (about $35 million) seed round led by Mérieux Equity Partners, the company announced on Nov. 9. SRTD did not disclose a valuation.

NRW.BANK and the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund co-led the round, with participation from Lilly Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Anobis Asset, a Freiburg-based family office. Mérieux invested through its Mérieux Innovation 2 fund, according to Tech Funding News, which reported that SRTD closed an undisclosed seven-figure first seed round led by HTGF and business angels in November 2024. HTGF is the only investor in both rounds.

An On-Off Switch for mRNA

SRTD’s core technology is selectively expressed RNA, or seRNA. The constructs use intracellular RNA disease markers to switch on mRNA expression only in target cells, limiting exposure in healthy tissue. The company pairs that with a fusogenic lipid nanoparticle delivery platform designed to reach the liver, lung, brain and other organs, plus a synthetic biology platform that uses bioinformatics and AI-driven RNA design.

Its pipeline targets oncology, autoimmune and fibrosis indications. Tech Funding News counted four preclinical programmes, covering liver and lung cancer, liver fibrosis and autoimmune disease.

Founders and New Leadership

SRTD was founded in 2019 by Dr. Bernd Hoffmann and Dr. Heribert Bohlen. Hoffmann serves as chief scientific officer. Matthias Alder, who served as CEO of Nasdaq-listed Gain Therapeutics from September 2022 to June 2024, according to Tech Funding News, has been named CEO. Dr. Heinz Koeppl, a professor at Technische Universität Darmstadt, director of its Centre for Synthetic Biology and founder of SRTD’s synthetic biology platform, is CTO, and Dr. Jens Hennecke joins as chief business officer.

Use of Funds

The capital will fund preclinical development of the pipeline toward an Investigational New Drug application. Alder called it "one of the largest biotech seed financings in Europe to date." Kristin Thompson, a director at Mérieux Equity Partners, said, "We believe SRTD Biotech has the potential to redefine what is possible with mRNA therapeutics."

Why It Matters

Selectivity is a central problem in mRNA therapeutics. Mérieux’s Thompson pointed to the goal of precise, selective activity that limits effects on healthy cells. SRTD’s pitch is that its constructs stay inactive unless a disease marker is present, which, if it holds up, would widen the range of conditions mRNA therapeutics could address. Tech Funding News noted that COVID vaccines still make up most of the mRNA market.

The cap table is the other signal. The venture arms of both Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly joined a seed round, an early commitment from large drugmakers to a company with no clinical data yet. Tech Funding News noted that whether either becomes a strategic partner is an open question.

The round is more than three times the size of SRTD’s first seed, per Tech Funding News. The next milestone is regulatory: moving a candidate from preclinical work to an IND filing.

Source

HTGF (High-Tech Gründerfonds) — SRTD Biotech raises a €31.5 million seed round to develop next-generation precision mRNA therapeutics