HAYA closes USD 5M seed extension led by Humboldt Fund and establishes U.S. Location

HAYA’s main headquarters and laboratory facilities will remain in Lausanne, Switzerland. The company also announced that it has successfully closed a USD 5 million seed extension led by Humboldt Fund, with participation from existing investors including Broadview Ventures, Apollo Health Ventures, BERNINA BioInvest, 4See Ventures, Schroder Adveq, and Viva BioInnovator. This brings the total amount raised for the seed round to approximately USD 25 million, as, In May, HAYA had closed a USD 20 million seed round.

“Over the past year, we have made tremendous progress demonstrating the validity of our lead candidate and continue to make new advances with our lncRNA drug discovery engine,” said Samir Ounzain, Ph.D., Co-founder, and CEO of HAYA Therapeutics. “We are excited to have this additional financial support from Humboldt Fund and our existing seed investors, and look forward to starting our journey in the U.S. and join other world-leading companies in the RNA-therapeutics space.”

The company will use the funding to grow its team in Switzerland and San Diego as well as advance its lead therapeutic candidate, an antisense oligonucleotide targeting the lncRNA Wisper, a cardiac tissue-enriched driver of fibrosis in the heart. The therapy is being developed to treat non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an orphan indication with limited treatment options. HAYA is also expanding its pipeline of lncRNA targeting anti-fibrotics using its proprietary DiscoverHAYA™ drug discovery engine for other indications.

HAYA Therapeutics participated in Venture Kick and Venture Leaders Life Sciences in 2018, and was among the TOP 100 Swiss Startups in 2020 and 2021.