# Unravel Biosciences

> Unravel Biosciences is a clinical-stage therapeutics company spun out of Harvard's Wyss Institute that starts with a patient's RNA rather than a drug target. Its BioNAV probabilistic network model of human health screens 40,000-plus compounds in silico - reporting roughly 200x the hit rate of conventional screens - to find existing molecules that can push a disease back toward health. The company validates predictions in engineered whole-organism models (including CRISPR-edited tadpoles) and then in patients, aiming to bring effective, lower-cost therapies to rare and overlooked diseases. Its lead asset, RVL-001 (a proprietary formulation of vorinostat), holds FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Rett syndrome and has entered clinical studies.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** Medford, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founders:** Richard Novak (Co-Founder & CEO), Frederic Vigneault (Co-Founder & CSO), Donald Ingber (Co-Founder (Wyss Institute Founding Director)), Michael Levin (Co-Founder (Wyss Associate Faculty))
- **Team size:** ~15 employees
- **Products:** BioNAV, SquishyWare, rareSHIFT, RVL-001 (vorinostat)
- **Notable:** Spun proprietary platform technology out of Harvard's Wyss Institute and Tufts University., FDA Orphan Drug Designation for vorinostat (RVL-001) in Rett syndrome (2024)., First patients dosed in RVL-001 proof-of-concept clinical studies for Rett and Pitt Hopkins syndromes (2026).

## Products & services

- **BioNAV** — A proprietary probabilistic network model of human health that screens 40,000+ compounds in silico to predict molecules that shift a disease state back toward health, reporting roughly 200x the hit rate of conventional drug screens.
- **SquishyWare** — A whole-organism screening platform (including CRISPR-engineered tadpole models) used to validate BioNAV predictions in vivo across multiple tissues before clinical translation.
- **rareSHIFT** — An end-to-end discovery program giving patients and rare-disease foundations direct access to Unravel's predictive platform, using RNA data and Living Molecular Twins to find candidate therapies.
- **RVL-001 (vorinostat)** — Lead pipeline asset: a proprietary formulation of the existing drug vorinostat, with FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Rett syndrome, now in clinical proof-of-concept studies for Rett and Pitt Hopkins syndromes.

## Achievements

- Spun proprietary platform technology out of Harvard's Wyss Institute and Tufts University.
- FDA Orphan Drug Designation for vorinostat (RVL-001) in Rett syndrome (2024).
- First patients dosed in RVL-001 proof-of-concept clinical studies for Rett and Pitt Hopkins syndromes (2026).
- Reached a milestone of 100+ disorders in its discovery portfolio.
- BioNAV reports ~200x the hit rate of conventional in-silico drug screens across 40,000+ compounds.
- Reversed Rett-like symptoms across multiple tissues in CRISPR-engineered tadpole models.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — First patient dosed in RVL-001 proof-of-concept studies for Rett and Pitt Hopkins syndromes; enrollment targets 15 Rett and 5 Pitt Hopkins patients.
- **2026-02** — Discovery portfolio reached the 100-disorder milestone via rareSHIFT and Living Molecular Twins.
- **2026-01** — Announced partnership with Evogene to develop a first-in-class demyelinating disorder therapy.
- **2025-12** — Colombian health authority approved RVL-001 clinical studies; first dosing planned for January 2026.
- **2025-07** — AI-guided approach for Rett syndrome advanced to FDA Orphan Drug Designation; featured by Wyss Institute and press.

## Links

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

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/unravel-biosciences
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-02