long-non-coding-rna
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NextRNA Therapeutics
NextRNA Therapeutics was a Boston-based biotechnology company pioneering small-molecule drugs that target long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) - a vast, largely undrugged region of the genome that regulates gene expression. Built on the science of Dana-Farber's Carl Novina and led by co-founder and CEO Dominique Verhelle, the company developed a proprietary discovery engine to map disease-relevant lncRNA-protein interactions and drug them with selective small molecules across oncology and immunology. NextRNA raised roughly $56 million in seed and Series A financing and signed a collaboration with Bayer worth up to $547 million before winding down operations in August 2025 amid a difficult biotech market and a missed partnership milestone.
Dominique Verhelle
Dominique Verhelle is a French-born scientist and biotech entrepreneur who co-founded and leads NextRNA Therapeutics, a Boston company building small-molecule drugs that target long non-coding RNA to treat cancers and neurological disorders. With a PhD in life sciences and an MBA in entrepreneurship, she has spent more than two decades across big pharma, venture capital, and startups - including Celgene, Pfizer, Third Rock Ventures, and Takeda - and helped launch Fulcrum Therapeutics and Cedilla Therapeutics before starting NextRNA. She is also an outspoken advocate for women founders in biotech.
HAYA Therapeutics
HAYA Therapeutics is a clinical-stage precision medicines company spun out of Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) in 2019. It develops RNA-guided programmable therapeutics that target long non-coding RNAs in the so-called 'dark genome' - the roughly 98% of human DNA that does not code for proteins - to reprogram disease-driving cell states. Its lead candidate, HTX-001, is an antisense oligonucleotide targeting the cardiac lncRNA Wisper for heart failure, with a broader pipeline spanning fibrosis, metabolic disease and cancer. The company is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, with US laboratory operations in San Diego, and raised a $65M Series A in May 2025.