Peptirna Therapeutics, a developer of siRNA (small-interfering RNA) drug delivery systems, has secured seed funding from Wow Partners. siRNA, also known as “short interfering RNA,” is gaining attention as a novel disease treatment approach. While conventional drugs target disease-causing proteins within cells by binding to inhibit their function or breaking them down, siRNA therapeutics work by binding to messenger RNA (mRNA) that produces disease-causing proteins, blocking protein production at its source to prevent disease fundamentally. This mechanism, called “RNA interference,” earned Andrew Fire and Craig Mello the Nobel Prize in 2006 for its discovery.

Despite this promise, many siRNA companies struggle with the technology to deliver siRNA drugs to target cells. Currently, only a few companies like Alnylam possess the technology to deliver siRNA to liver cells. Peptirna Therapeutics has developed “Pepticellplex,” a delivery vehicle that uses proprietary peptides combined with siRNA drugs to deliver them beyond liver cells. The company has also successfully developed technology allowing siRNA to escape degradation inside endosomes after cellular uptake, enabling it to function as a therapeutic agent.

“Peptirna Therapeutics has demonstrated outstanding performance in delivery vehicle technology, which has been a major obstacle to the expansion of existing siRNA therapeutics, showing significant growth potential,” said Tae-hyun Kim, CEO of Wow Partners, explaining the investment decision.

Byung-il Kim, CEO of Peptirna Therapeutics, said, “Korean biotech companies are showing excellent results in the delivery vehicle field. Peptirna will surpass existing delivery vehicle technology in the siRNA field and grow into a global company.”

Peptirna Therapeutics was selected as a company for Wow Partners’ accelerating program “Wow Next Class 1” this year and received incubation and support.