Grünenthal has announced that it has joined the Cluster for Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Munich (CNATM), strengthening its investment in genetic medicine and expanding its capabilities in oligonucleotide drug discovery for pain and neurological disorders.
The Germany-based pharmaceutical company said that membership of the innovation network will enable it to collaborate with leading academic institutions, biotech companies and industry partners working to accelerate next-generation nucleic acid therapeutics into clinical applications.
The move reflects growing industry investment in RNA-based medicines, following the success of mRNA vaccine technologies and continued advances in antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics.
Grünenthal has spent recent years building internal expertise in oligonucleotide modalities, including ASOs and siRNA, as potential therapies for chronic pain and related neurological indications.
Through the collaboration, the company said that it is aiming to deepen its understanding of oligonucleotide design, delivery and cellular activity, with a particular focus on improving targeted siRNA delivery to neuronal cells and tissues associated with pain, epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases.
Efficient delivery remains one of the biggest technical challenges in the manufacturing and development of nucleic acid therapeutics, making collaborations between industry and academic research centres increasingly important for translating promising RNA technologies into commercially viable medicines.
The CNATM was established under Germany's Clusters4Future programme and brings together researchers from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the Technical University of Munich, the Universities of Regensburg and Würzburg, the Helmholtz Munich research centre and a growing network of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
The initiative focuses on advancing nucleic acid chemistry, delivery technologies and translational medicine to support the next generation of RNA-based therapeutics.
"With the CNATM, we are joining a group of like-minded experts striving to address unmet needs through innovation," said Uli Brödl, Chief Scientific Officer at Grünenthal.
I am delighted for our teams to advance novel approaches with the leading members from the German and international nucleic acid therapeutics community.
Beyond advancing its own research programmes, Grünenthal added that the partnership is intended to "stimulate innovation" across the wider cluster by generating new scientific insights, technologies and therapeutic concepts that could be developed internally, through strategic collaborations or by creating new biotechnology ventures.
