Sept. 19 Quick Takes: RNA editing company Airna emerges with $30M round led by Arch

Airna Corp. Inc. raised $30 million in an undisclosed venture round led by Arch Venture Partners, with participation from ND Capital, Fast Track Initiative (FTI), Novalis and Codon Capital. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company, which has research operations in Germany, develops oligonucleotides that bind target RNA sequences and recruit ADAR deaminase enzymes for targeted transcript editing via its RESTORE+ platform, based on technology from co-founders Thorsten Stafforst at University of Tübingen and Jin Billy Li at Stanford University. Airna’s lead program is in preclinical development for the genetic disease alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), and subsequent programs will target prevalent diseases.

New VC firm age1 launched with a focus on pre-seed and seed funding for longevity-focused biotechs. The firm, which had a first close of $35 million, was co-founded by Laura Deming, founder of The Longevity Fund, and Alex Colville, an investor who studied the biology of aging at Stanford University...