# AIRNA

> AIRNA is a clinical-stage biotechnology company building RNA-editing medicines that harness ADAR, a naturally occurring human enzyme, to make precise, programmable and non-permanent edits to RNA. Its RESTORE+ platform uses short oligonucleotides to recruit ADAR to a target transcript and swap a single letter, correcting disease-causing variants without altering DNA. AIRNA's lead candidate, AIR-001, targets alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) and has advanced into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, with a broader pipeline aimed at cardiometabolic and other diseases. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with research operations in Tübingen, Germany, and has raised roughly $245 million from investors including ARCH, Forbion and Venrock.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founders:** Thorsten Stafforst (Scientific Co-Founder; biochemist, University of Tubingen), Jin Billy Li (Scientific Co-Founder; geneticist, Stanford University)
- **Team size:** ~84 employees
- **Products:** RESTORE+ Platform, AIR-001
- **Notable:** Raised approximately $245 million in total across seed, Series A extension and a $155 million oversubscribed Series B (2023-2025)., Advanced lead candidate AIR-001 into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency., Demonstrated up to 59% precise RNA editing in vivo with AIR-001.

## Products & services

- **RESTORE+ Platform** — AIRNA's core RNA-editing technology, which uses engineered oligonucleotides to recruit the naturally occurring ADAR enzyme to a target RNA and make precise adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) edits. Because the edit is on RNA rather than DNA, it is programmable and non-permanent.
- **AIR-001** — AIRNA's lead product candidate for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). It targets the common PiZ mutation - a single errant adenosine - and edits it so the body reads it as a guanosine, restoring functional alpha-1 antitrypsin protein. AIR-001 demonstrated up to 59% precise RNA editing in vivo and has advanced into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial.

## Achievements

- Raised approximately $245 million in total across seed, Series A extension and a $155 million oversubscribed Series B (2023-2025).
- Advanced lead candidate AIR-001 into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
- Demonstrated up to 59% precise RNA editing in vivo with AIR-001.
- Built a company around foundational RNA-editing science first published by co-founder Thorsten Stafforst in 2019.
- Assembled a board chaired by Rodger Novak, a co-founder of CRISPR Therapeutics.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — AIRNA appointed biopharma veteran Todd Bazemore as President and CEO and a member of the board to lead the company's clinical-stage growth.
- **2025-04** — Closed an oversubscribed $155 million Series B, led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners and co-led by Forbion Growth, to fund the AIR-001 Phase 1/2 trial and pipeline expansion.
- **2024-07** — Raised an oversubscribed $60 million Series A extension led by Forbion to progress its AATD program toward the clinic.
- **2023-09** — Emerged from stealth with a $30 million launch financing led by ARCH Venture Partners to develop RNA-editing therapeutics.

## Links

- Website: https://airna.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airna-bio

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/airna
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-22