HAYA Therapeutics develops programmable, RNA-guided therapies that target regulatory long non-coding RNAs to reprogram pathological cell states. Its core product approach maps and decodes the regulatory genome using multimodal functional genomics and proprietary computational and machine-learning methods. The company’s lead candidate, HTX-001, is a first-in-class lncRNA-targeting therapy in development for heart failure, initially focused on non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (nHCM). HAYA plans to initiate clinical trials for HTX-001 and to expand its pipeline across pulmonary fibrosis, obesity and other age-related and chronic diseases. The company has also formed strategic collaborations, including a partnership with Eli Lilly focused on RNA-based targets for obesity and metabolic disorders. HAYA is headquartered at the Biopôle life sciences park in Lausanne, Switzerland, with laboratory facilities in San Diego. HAYA Therapeutics develops programmable RNA-guided regulatory genome targeting therapeutics that act on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) to reprogram pathological cell states. Its lead candidate, HTX-001, is in development for the treatment of heart failure, and the company is advancing a pipeline of lncRNA-targeting precision therapies for other tissues and indications. HAYA positions its platform to address rare, common, chronic and age-associated diseases and is extending its work into oncology. The company received an Innosuisse Certificate for Sustainable Growth and 1.5M CHF (approximately $1.64M USD) in non-dilutive funding to support translational studies over the next two years. Those funds will be used to develop a therapy targeting cancer-associated fibroblast-specific lncRNA for aggressive solid tumors. HAYA is headquartered at Biopôle in Lausanne, Switzerland, and maintains laboratory facilities at JLABS @ San Diego. HAYA Therapeutics develops a proprietary regulatory genome discovery platform that identifies tissue-, disease- and cell-specific long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) targets and enables RNA-targeting therapies. The platform is positioned to reprogram disease-driving cell states with the aim of delivering therapies that may have better efficacy and less toxicity than current treatments. HAYA is applying this full-stack platform to discovery and validation of lncRNA targets for obesity and related metabolic disorders. Under a multi-year collaboration with Eli Lilly, the partners will identify, characterize, and validate multiple regulatory genome-derived RNA-based drug targets. The company will receive an upfront payment that includes an equity investment and stands to earn milestone payments and royalties if programs progress. HAYA’s immediate plans center on preclinical drug discovery work within the collaboration to generate candidate targets and advance them toward development. HAYA Therapeutics is a Biopôle-based Swiss startup developing precision medicines and lncRNA-targeting anti-fibrotics using its proprietary DiscoverHAYA drug discovery engine. The company has established a new laboratory at JLABS @ San Diego while maintaining its main headquarters and laboratory facilities in Lausanne. HAYA will use the new funding to grow its team in Switzerland and San Diego and to advance its lead therapeutic candidate that targets a driver of cardiac fibrosis. The lead therapy is being developed to treat non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an orphan indication with limited treatment options. Financially, HAYA closed a $5 million seed extension that brings the total seed financing to approximately $25 million. HAYA Therapeutics develops precision genomic medicines that target tissue- and cell-specific long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) to prevent and reverse fibrosis and other age-related conditions. Its proprietary DiscoverHAYA™ drug discovery engine generates a pipeline of lncRNA-targeting anti-fibrotics for organs including heart, lung, kidney, liver and the tumor microenvironment. The lead program is an antisense oligonucleotide targeting the cardiac-enriched lncRNA Wisper, which in preclinical studies at Lausanne University Hospital demonstrated the ability to halt and potentially reverse cardiac fibrosis. HAYA secured an exclusive license from CHUV for the Wisper asset and is preparing to initiate clinical trials in non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The company is headquartered at the Biopôle life sciences park in Lausanne, Switzerland and is led by a team of lncRNA and fibrosis experts. The CHF 18 million seed financing will be used to advance discovery and development of its organ- and cell-selective therapeutic programs.

Total raised

$92M

Funding rounds

5

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

May 2025