Akribion Therapeutics Raises €8M to Advance RNA-Guided Cell Depletion Technology

• Akribion Therapeutics has raised €8 million in a Seed financing round to advance its RNA-guided, nuclease-based technology for programmable cell depletion.

• The funding round was led by CARMA FUND and RV Invest, with additional investors including MP Beteiligungs GmbH, Hessen Kapital I, Bruker Invest, and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF).

Akribion Therapeutics, a biotechnology startup based in Zwingenberg, Germany, has announced its exit from stealth and the completion of an €8 million Seed financing round. The company is developing an RNA-guided, nuclease-based technology for programmable cell depletion, with an initial focus on oncology.

The investment round was led by CARMA FUND and RV Invest, alongside contributions from MP Beteiligungs GmbH, Hessen Kapital I, Bruker Invest, and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). The funding will support the advancement of Akribion’s proprietary G-dase® E nucleases, which target specific cell populations based on RNA sequences.

Lukas Linnig, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Akribion, highlighted the platform’s potential: “Akribion is unlocking a whole new class of therapeutic possibilities with our approach. While we are initially focused on advancing groundbreaking precision oncology therapies, we believe that this approach to programmable cell depletion could have much wider application.”

Founded in 2024, Akribion is led by Co-founders and Co-CEOs Lukas Linnig and Dr Michael Krohn. Dr Adel Nada has been appointed as board Chair, bringing experience from his role as a venture partner at Volnay Therapeutics. The company’s technology was initially discovered by Dr Paul Scholz and his team at BRAIN Biotech AG, with Dr Scholz now serving as Akribion’s Head of Research and Development.

Initially, the company is targeting HPV-induced oropharyngeal head and neck cancer (OPSCC), with plans to expand applications into autoimmune diseases, fibrosis, and infectious diseases. Akribion’s technology enables rapid adaptation by modifying the guide RNA, positioning it as a versatile tool for multiple therapeutic areas.