Skyhawk Raises $133 Million to Advance its RNA-Modifying Candidates into the Clinic

Skyhawk Therapeutics said it raised $133 million to accelerate development of its novel small molecule RNA-modifying drug candidates into the clinic.

Photo: Bill Haney, co-founder and CEO of Skyhawk Therapeutics

Fidelity Management & Research Company led the oversubscribed investment round in Skyhawk, along with other major investors, bringing total equity funding plus partnership capital in Skyhawk to more than $600 million thus far.

“This investment round strengthens Skyhawk’s capacity to advance our internal pipeline of drug candidates deep into the clinic,” said Bill Haney, co-founder and CEO of Skyhawk Therapeutics. “We are delighted that investors support our novel platform, a strong foundation from which to advance a series of our internal drugs for patients, even as we expand our work making drug candidates for our pharma collaborators.”  

RNA mis-splicing that leads to loss of RNA expression has been found to cause a growing list of diseases, from orphan and neurological conditions to major cancers. Very few treatments are available for these challenging conditions, many of which have been considered undruggable. Skyhawk’s proprietary SkySTAR platform integrates information from computational, kinetic, and structural models of RNA to correct the underlying genetics of disease at the mRNA level, with a focus on oncology and neurodegenerative diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy, ALS, and frontotemporal dementia.

Skyhawk develops and commercializes therapies using the SkySTAR platform to build small molecules that provide breakthrough treatments for patients. Skyhawk has productive collaborations across a broad range of disease areas ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to oncology. Its partners include Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Merck, Biogen, and Celgene, a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Author: Rare Daily Staff