Rion
RION is a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company developing PEP™, a proprietary platelet-derived exosome platform for tissue regeneration and drug delivery across human, animal-health, and aesthetics indications.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersRochester, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Rion does
RION is a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota, founded in 2017 out of the Mayo Clinic Employee Entrepreneurial Program by Drs. Atta Behfar and Andre Terzic. The company is built around a proprietary Purified Exosome Product™ (PEP™), a shelf-stable lyophilized powder drug substance containing up to 2 trillion regenerative platelet-derived exosomes per vial with 24-month room-temperature shelf life. PEP™ is administered via topical, intra-articular, intravenous, intramuscular, and nebulizer routes and is being developed for tissue regeneration across skin, heart, muscle, tendon, lung, nerve, and vaginal mucosa. RION also operates a patent-protected exosome-based drug-delivery platform for encapsulating mRNA, siRNA, DNA, and small molecules, positioned as a delivery alternative to lipid nanoparticles.
RION's pipeline is organized through three operational subsidiaries that verticalize the platform: RION Aesthetics (dermal/cosmetic applications, including a Phase 1 investigator-initiated trial at the Clinical Testing Center of Beverly Hills), INTENT Biologics (late-stage clinical exosome therapies in inflammation and immunology, led by CEO Suneet Varma), and RION Vet (animal-health biologic therapeutics with lead equine product ePEP-01, backed by a $15M Series A and led by CEO Mark Herthel). Active human clinical programs include Phase 2 in Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Phase 1b in Knee Osteoarthritis, and the FDA-allowed Phase 1 dermal study. Manufacturing is anchored by a Rochester, MN facility (expanded February 2024) and a CDMO partnership with Lonza announced September 2025.
The business model is pre-commercial and partner-driven: RION is not yet selling any approved product and generates value through investigator-initiated trial sponsorships, strategic partnerships and out-licensing of the PEP™ platform, non-dilutive grants (including a $2.4M Department of Defense award in November 2023), and equity financings channeled through subsidiaries such as RION Vet's $15M Series A. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per program or partner. The company's customer base today consists of research collaborators (Mayo Clinic, USU, Walter Reed, AFRIMS, Murtha Cancer Center), a CDMO (Lonza), government funders (DoD), and clinical research sites rather than paying end-users.
Rion firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rion
- Legal name
- RION
- Website
- https://riontx.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- RION is a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company developing PEP™, a proprietary platelet-derived exosome platform for tissue regeneration and drug delivery across human, animal-health, and aesthetics indications.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rion industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Regenerative Medicine
- NAICS
- Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)
- SIC
- Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Xanthan & Gellan (Microbial Fermentation Gums) (AFAJABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Plant Gums (Guar, Locust Bean/Carob, Tara) (AFAJAMAB)
Keywords
Where Rion is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rochester
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Rion business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Strategic Partnering & Out-Licensing of PEP™ Platform: Pre-commercial clinical-stage biotech generating revenue (or in-kind value) via partnered programs with pharma/biotech, CDMO engagement (Lonza for manufacturing scale), and out-licensing of its PEP™ exosome platform to verticals including inflammation/immunology (INTENT Biologics) and animal health (RION Vet). Includes milestones and royalties expected as programs advance.
- Investigational Product Supply for Clinical Trials (Aesthetics): RION Aesthetics supplies its PEP™ investigational product to investigator-initiated clinical studies (e.g., Clinical Testing Center of Beverly Hills Phase 1 dermal trial) and supports aesthetic/dermatology use cases in humans.
- Veterinary Biologic Therapeutic (RION Vet): RION Vet is developing first-in-class biologic therapeutics for animal health, starting with equine lead product ePEP-01; pipeline planned across multiple high-value animal-health markets. Backed by a $15M Series A financing round.
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Rion product offering
Product offeringCore offering
RION manufactures and develops Purified Exosome Product (PEP™), a proprietary lyophilized, shelf-stable drug substance containing up to 2 trillion regenerative platelet-derived exosomes per vial, used for tissue regeneration across skin, heart, muscle, tendon, lung, nerve, and vaginal mucosa indications. The company also licenses a patent-protected exosome-based drug delivery platform for encapsulating mRNA, siRNA, DNA, proteins, and small molecules. RION commercializes vertical applications of PEP™ through three subsidiaries: RION Vet (animal health), RION Aesthetics (dermatology/cosmetics), and INTENT Biologics (inflammation and immunology).
Product overview
RION's offering is a unified regenerative medicine platform-plus-pipeline architecture anchored by its proprietary Purified Exosome Product™ (PEP™) drug substance and RION Drug Delivery Platform. PEP™ is the core platelet-derived exosome technology discovered at the Mayo Clinic Van Cleve Cardiac Regenerative Medicine Program, while the Drug Delivery Platform extends it by encapsulating mRNA, siRNA, DNA, proteins, and small molecules within the PEP™ lipid bilayer for therapeutic delivery. Three sub-brands operationalize clinical programs around this platform: RION Vet (veterinary biologic therapeutics, lead product ePEP-01), INTENT Biologics (late-stage clinical therapies in inflammation and immunology), and RION Aesthetics (aesthetic and dermatologic applications of PEP™). Together, these products form a single vertically integrated exosome science platform spanning human clinical indications (e.g., knee osteoarthritis, diabetic foot ulcers, COPD/emphysema, wound healing), veterinary health, drug delivery, and aesthetics.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RION Vet: Veterinary biotechnology company developing biologic therapeutics for animal health; lead product ePEP-01 with equine studies and planned expansion into multiple high-value animal health markets.
- INTENT Biologics
- Rion Aesthetics
Products and services
- Purified Exosome Product™ (PEP™) Proprietary lyophilized powder Drug Substance containing up to 2 trillion regenerative platelet-derived exosomes per vial, with 24 months of room-temperature shelf life. Used for regeneration of skin, heart, muscle, tendon, lung, nerve, and vaginal mucosa tissues, administrable via topical, intra-articular, IV, IM, and nebulizer routes.
- RION Drug Delivery Platform Next-generation platelet-derived exosome drug delivery platform using the PEP™ lipid bilayer to encapsulate and deliver mRNA, siRNA, DNA, proteins, and small molecules, designed to improve biodistribution, targeting, and uptake compared with lipid nanoparticles while reducing systemic toxicities.
- RION Vet (ePEP-01) Veterinary biotechnology subsidiary developing first-in-class biologic therapeutics for animal health, starting with the lead equine product ePEP-01 and intended to expand into multiple high-value animal-health markets.
- RION Aesthetics RION subsidiary supporting the development of PEP™ exosomes for aesthetic and dermatologic applications, including providing investigational product and research support for the first U.S. investigator-initiated dermal injection trial of PEP™ exosomes.
- INTENT Biologics Wholly owned RION subsidiary developing late-stage clinical exosome-based therapies in inflammation and immunology, led by CEO Suneet Varma.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 2 trillion regenerative exosomes per vial of PEP™; 24 months room-temperature shelf life as lyophilized powder
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Rion
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Rion technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Rion partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Mayo ClinicflagshipRION was founded out of the Mayo Clinic Employee Entrepreneurial Program in 2017 and is closely tied to the Mayo Clinic Van Cleve Cardiac Regenerative Medicine Program, where the first iteration of PEP™ was created in Dr. Behfar's laboratory. RION has co-led DoD-funded ($2.4M) exosome-based pulmonary therapeutics research with Mayo Clinic and USAMRICD.
- LonzacoreIn September 2025, RION engaged Lonza to scale manufacturing of exosome-based therapeutics — Lonza acts as RION's CDMO/manufacturing partner for global supply of PEP™.
- Uniformed Services University (USU)coreListed as an "Additional Partner" on RION's About page; associated with DoD-funded exosome-based pulmonary research collaboration.
- Walter Reed National Military Medical CentercoreListed as an "Additional Partner" on RION's About page; military-medicine collaborator on exosome-based regenerative research.
- Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS)coreListed as an "Additional Partner" on RION's About page; Department of Defense medical research collaborator.
- U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Chemical Defense (USAMRICD)coreJoint recipient (with RION and Mayo Clinic) of a $2.4M Department of Defense award announced November 20, 2023 to advance exosome-based research in pulmonary therapeutics.
- John P. Murtha Cancer CenterminorListed as an "Additional Partner" on RION's About page; oncology research and clinical collaboration potential.
- Blood Centers of AmericacoreListed as an "Additional Partner" on RION's About page; logical supplier/partner relationship given RION's platform is based on platelets (a blood-derived source).
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation (HJF)minorListed as an "Additional Partner" on RION's About page (logo added March 2025); supports military medical research collaborations.
- Medical AlleyminorMinnesota health-industry trade association listed as a partner on RION's About page — provides regional industry networking and visibility.
- RAEDI (Rochester Area Economic Development Inc.)minorRegional economic development partner; awarded RION the Entrepreneur Award at the 11th Annual R.A.V.E. (Nov 2024).
- Clinical Testing Center of Beverly HillsminorSponsors and independently conducts an FDA-allowed Phase 1 investigator-initiated trial of intradermal PEP™ exosome injections in healthy adults undergoing abdominoplasty. RION Aesthetics supplies the investigational product and research support.
- HDT Bio (Steve Reed, Co-founder & CEO)minorAdvisory board relationship — Steve Reed, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of HDT Bio, serves on RION's Advisory Board. HDT Bio is a vaccine and immune-oncology biotech.
- Destination Medical Center (DMC)minorReferenced on Careers page — a 20-year, $5.6 billion economic development initiative in Rochester, MN in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and the City of Rochester that RION participates in as a biotech ecosystem partner.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Rion competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Capricor Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing exosome-based and cell-based therapeutics (e.g., CAP-1002 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy). Comparable as a direct peer in the cell-derived/exosome therapeutic space targeting serious diseases with novel regenerative modalities.
- Evox Therapeutics: UK-based clinical-stage biotech engineering exosomes for therapeutic delivery of nucleic acids and proteins. Comparable as a direct peer in the engineered exosome platform space, particularly for drug-delivery applications analogous to RION's PEP™ delivery platform.
- ExoCoBio: Clinical/commercial-stage exosome therapeutics company developing stem-cell-derived exosome products for regenerative medicine, dermatology, and aesthetics. Direct peer given overlap with RION Aesthetics and the broader regenerative exosome thesis.
- Codiak BioSciences: Pioneer in engineered exosome therapeutics (engEx platform). Comparable as a peer in the engineered-exosome-as-biologic modality, though Codiak wound down operations in 2023 — illustrating both the technical promise and execution difficulty of the space RION operates in.
- VetStem Biopharma: Veterinary regenerative medicine company providing autologous stem cell therapies for companion animals and equine injuries. Comparable as a direct peer to RION Vet in the veterinary regenerative/biologic therapeutics space, particularly for equine applications.
Broad incumbents
- Mesoblast: Commercial-stage regenerative medicine company developing cellular therapies (remestemcel-L) for inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. Comparable as a broader regenerative medicine incumbent whose cell-based approach competes conceptually with RION's cell-free exosome platform.
- Athersys: Clinical-stage regenerative medicine company developing MultiStem cell therapy for stroke, ARDS, and trauma. Comparable as a peer in mid-to-late-stage clinical regenerative medicine, addressing overlapping indications including wound healing/inflammatory conditions.
- Arcturus Therapeutics: Clinical/commercial-stage mRNA medicines and lipid nanoparticle delivery company. Comparable as a peer in the nucleic acid delivery space — RION's PEP™ is positioned as an alternative to LNP-based delivery for mRNA/siRNA.
- Pluristem Therapeutics: Clinical-stage cell therapy company using placenta-derived mesenchymal-like adherent stromal cells for regenerative indications. Comparable as a broader regenerative medicine peer targeting wound healing, muscle, and inflammatory indications.
Emerging players
- Exopharm: Australian clinical-stage company developing exosome-based regenerative medicines (Plexaris, Exoria). Comparable as a small-cap emerging player in the same exosome therapeutic category as RION's PEP™.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Rion social profiles
Digital presenceRion financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rion leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Rion subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Rion funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rion M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rion
What does Rion do?
RION manufactures and develops Purified Exosome Product (PEP™), a proprietary lyophilized, shelf-stable drug substance containing up to 2 trillion regenerative platelet-derived exosomes per vial, used for tissue regeneration across skin, heart, muscle, tendon, lung, nerve, and vaginal mucosa indications. The company also licenses a patent-protected exosome-based drug delivery platform for encapsulating mRNA, siRNA, DNA, proteins, and small molecules. RION commercializes vertical applications of PEP™ through three subsidiaries: RION Vet (animal health), RION Aesthetics (dermatology/cosmetics), and INTENT Biologics (inflammation and immunology).
Is Rion a public or private company?
Rion is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Rion founded?
Rion was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Rion based?
Rion is headquartered in Rochester, United States, in the North America region.
How does Rion make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Strategic Partnering & Out-Licensing of PEP™ Platform is the primary driver. The others are investigational Product Supply for Clinical Trials (Aesthetics) and veterinary Biologic Therapeutic (RION Vet).
Who are Rion's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Capricor Therapeutics, Evox Therapeutics, ExoCoBio, Codiak BioSciences and VetStem Biopharma. Broad incumbents are Mesoblast, Athersys, Arcturus Therapeutics and Pluristem Therapeutics. Exopharm is listed as an emerging player.
Does Rion have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rion.
What industry is Rion in?
Rion's product category is Regenerative Medicine. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAJABAF, Xanthan & Gellan (Microbial Fermentation Gums), with a secondary code of AFAJAMAB, Plant Gums (Guar, Locust Bean/Carob, Tara). Its NAICS code is 325411 and its SIC code is 2833.