Wayfinder Biosciences

Name

Wayfinder Biosciences

Legal name

Wayfinder Biosciences, Inc.

Website

https://wayfinderbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wayfinder Biosciences is a Seattle-based biotech developing orally available small molecule therapeutics that bind mRNAs to prevent disease protein production, serving pharmaceutical partners via its RNA-targeting platform with AI/ML-enabled screening.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

RNA-Targeting Small Molecule Therapeutics

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

RNA Therapeutics Platforms & Design (sequence design, target ID/validation, AI/bioinformatics) (HLAAADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening) (HLAAAIAE), RNA Therapeutics Clinical Development (trial design, endpoints, patient stratification) (HLAAADAH)

Keywords

• RNA-targeting small molecules
• Small molecule therapeutics
• RNA drug discovery
• Undruggable disease targets
• Biotechnology platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Collaborations and Licensing: As a pre-revenue biotech company, Wayfinder Biosciences generates revenue through research collaborations with pharmaceutical partners, licensing of technology and drug candidates, and potential milestone payments and royalties from successful therapeutic development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Wayfinder Biosciences develops a new class of orally available small molecule therapeutics that bind to mRNAs encoding disease-causing proteins, preventing their production before they are made. The company's proprietary platform combines RNA-based sensors and a data generation engine with experimental and AI/ML screening to discover potent, selective, and biologically active RNA-targeting small molecules for targets inaccessible by traditional drug development approaches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RNA-Targeting Small Molecule Platform
• c-MYC Oncology Program
• Daiichi Sankyo Neurodegeneration Collaboration Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Advancement to Phase 2 of research collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo on neurodegeneration target

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Daiichi SankyocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026Research collaboration focused on discovering novel RNA-targeting small molecules against a key neurodegeneration target. The collaboration advanced to Phase 2 following successful completion of initial research phase. CEO Jason Fontana described the advancement as validation of Wayfinder's platform technology and expressed gratitude for Daiichi Sankyo's continued support and confidence.

Scale indicators3 records

Direct peers

• Arrakis Therapeutics: Direct competitor developing small molecules that target RNA. Arrakis is the most comparable peer, sharing the same oral small molecule approach to previously undruggable RNA structures with a similar platform-plus-pipeline model.
• Skyhawk Therapeutics: Develops small molecules that bind to RNA via its SkySTAR platform. Operates in the same RNA-small molecule discovery category with partnership-driven revenue and major pharma collaborations.
• Expansion Therapeutics: Focused on oral small molecule RNA-targeting drugs, with primary emphasis on repeat expansion diseases. Closely comparable in modality and disease-area ambitions.
• Ribometrix: Develops small molecule drugs that target RNA structures using 3D structure-based design. Same oral small molecule + RNA approach with overlapping discovery methodology.
• Accent Therapeutics: Focused on modulating RNA-modifying proteins with small molecules. Overlaps with Wayfinder's RNA-targeting therapeutic ambition in oncology and adjacent indications.

Emerging players

• Remix Therapeutics: Discovers small molecules that modulate RNA processing. Same modality (small molecule, RNA) with a different mechanism (processing vs direct mRNA binding) but a directly comparable business model.
• Storm Therapeutics: UK-based small molecule company targeting RNA-modifying enzymes for oncology. Similar platform-plus-partnership model, particularly comparable in cancer indications.

Broad incumbents

• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Market-leading siRNA therapeutics company with multiple approved drugs and large pharma partnerships. Operates in the broader RNA therapeutics space but uses injectable modalities rather than oral small molecules.
• Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage RNAi therapeutics company with broad pipeline and multiple Big Pharma collaborations. Comparable business model (pharma partnerships targeting RNA-driven disease), but uses injectable modalities.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Established antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapeutics company with multiple approved drugs and Big Pharma partnerships. Same RNA-targeting therapeutic category but uses injectable ASOs rather than oral small molecules.

Market position

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors12 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wayfinder Biosciences