Thalia Therapeutics, a UK-based biotech company specialising in RNA-based therapeutics, has secured €3.1 million (£2.75 million) in funding from Premier Miton to acquire US-based clinical-stage biotech Sanmirna Therapeutics. The investment marks a significant expansion of the company’s therapeutic pipeline across oncology and cardiovascular disease indications.
The capital raise will fund multiple development initiatives across Thalia’s portfolio. €1.1 million has been allocated toward completing the Phase 1 trial of miRisten, a microRNA therapeutic candidate for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) that Thalia is acquiring through the Sanmirna transaction. An additional €869,000 will support advancement of cardiovascular assets toward FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) application status, whilst the remaining €1.1 million will cover working capital, research and development activities, and transaction-related costs.
Strategic Acquisition Accelerates Development Timeline
The acquisition of Sanmirna represents a substantial step forward for Thalia, which was founded in 2014. By bringing miRisten in-house, the company gains access to a clinical-stage asset that significantly compresses its development timeline. According to Dr. David Solomon, speaking on the transaction: “This is an exciting and transformative opportunity to accelerate our clinical-stage oncology pipeline and diversify our RNA therapeutics pipeline, providing us with an asset that advances our development timeline by several years compared with our pre-clinical progress to date.”
MicroRNA therapeutics represent a distinct approach within the RNA therapeutics space, targeting disease mechanisms through the modulation of gene expression. The acquisition of miRisten provides Thalia with immediate access to clinical-stage validation in haematologic malignancies, whilst the company’s existing cardiovascular programme benefits from the funding acceleration towards regulatory milestones.
Positioning Within RNA Therapeutics Landscape
The investment underscores ongoing confidence in RNA-based therapeutics as a treatment modality. With miRisten positioned in late preclinical or early clinical development and cardiovascular assets advancing toward regulatory submissions, Thalia is diversifying its exposure across multiple therapeutic areas and disease states. The funding also enables the company to strengthen its operational capacity to manage the expanded pipeline resulting from the Sanmirna integration.
Premier Miton’s lead investment in this round reflects the investor’s confidence in Thalia’s strategic direction and the potential of its RNA therapeutics platform. The funding positions the company to navigate the competitive landscape of precision medicine, where RNA-based approaches continue to attract significant attention from the investment community.
This transaction reflects a broader trend within the European biotech ecosystem, where established companies and emerging players increasingly pursue strategic acquisitions to fill pipeline gaps and accelerate development programmes. As regulatory pathways for RNA therapeutics mature, particularly following recent approvals in adjacent spaces, companies like Thalia are positioning themselves to capture emerging opportunities in oncology and cardiovascular indications.