What Starna Therapeutics does

Starna Therapeutics (星锐医药（苏州）有限公司) is a clinical-stage Chinese biotechnology company founded in August 2021 by CEO Dr. Hu Rongkuan and scientific founder Dr. Cheng Qiang (a Peking University researcher credited as a co-inventor of SORT-LNP technology). The company is headquartered in Suzhou BioBAY with an additional R&D and pilot production base in Shanghai Zhangjiang, operates over 4,000 square meters of laboratory and cGMP pilot manufacturing space, and was recognized as a China Potential Unicorn in 2022, 2024 and 2025.

The company is built around the STAR-LNP (Structure-driven TARgeting) extrahepatic lipid nanoparticle delivery platform, which comprises two proprietary modules. The tissue-specific LNP (tsLNP) module leverages a library of thousands of cationic lipid molecules and tens of thousands of screened LNP formulations, validated in beagle dogs and non-human primates, to deliver mRNA to muscle, pancreas, lung, spleen and liver. The cell-selective LNP (csLNP) module uses ligand conjugation to target specific immune cell subtypes such as T cells and antigen-presenting cells, enabling in vivo CAR-T applications. On top of this platform, Starna is developing four disclosed clinical assets: STR-V003 (an RSV mRNA vaccine that received FDA IND clearance in March 2024 and is in Phase 1), STR-V005 (a personalized neoantigen cancer vaccine combined with PD-1 therapy, with first patient dosed in April 2025), and two in vivo cell therapy programs for autoimmune disease (STR-P004 and STR-P005).

Starna is pre-revenue and funds its R&D and clinical development through equity financing—cumulative capital raised is approximately USD 114 million across an angel round (~USD 10M in December 2021), Series A (~USD 22.1M in May 2022 led by LYFE Capital), Series B (~USD 44M in October 2025 co-led by LYFE, Hillhouse and Lilly Asia Fund) and Series B+ (~USD 40M in May 2026). The future revenue model is based on out-licensing, co-development partnerships with larger pharmaceutical companies (e.g., Genexine for lung-targeted delivery, Shixi Bio for RNA editing, Shenji Biotech for raw materials, GenScript ProBio for plasmid CMC), and the eventual commercialization of mRNA vaccines and in vivo cell therapies. GTM is primarily sales-led enterprise licensing and channel-partnered co-development, supported by event-driven academic and industry collaborations.

Name

Starna Therapeutics

Legal name

星锐医药（苏州）有限公司

Website

https://starnatx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Starna Therapeutics is a Suzhou-based clinical-stage biotech developing extrahepatic targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery technology for RNA therapeutics. Its pipeline spans an FDA-cleared RSV mRNA vaccine, a personalized cancer vaccine, and in vivo CAR-T programs, monetized via licensing and pharma co-development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

RNA Therapeutics / Nucleic Acid Drugs

NAICS

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

RNA Delivery Technologies (LNPs, polymers, conjugates incl. GalNAc, peptides, exosomes) (HLAAADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

mRNA Therapeutics (vaccines, protein replacement, immuno-oncology) (HLAAADAA), mRNA & Nucleic Acid Manufacturing Services (mRNA/saRNA/Plasmid DNA) (HLAGAGAC)

Keywords

• RNA therapeutics
• Lipid nanoparticles
• MRNA vaccines
• Targeted drug delivery
• Extrahepatic delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Suzhou

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Drug development (pre-revenue): Starna Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company; it has not yet commercialized any drug products. Revenue model is currently based on equity financing rounds (Angel, Series A, Series B, Series B+) to fund R&D, clinical trials, and platform development. Future revenue is expected from out-licensing/co-development of pipeline candidates and potential commercialization of mRNA therapeutics (RSV vaccine STR-V003, personalized cancer vaccine STR-V005, in vivo CAR-T).

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Core offering

Starna Therapeutics develops a proprietary extrahepatic targeted lipid nanoparticle (LNP) drug delivery platform (STAR-LNP) for RNA-based therapeutics, comprising tissue-specific LNP (tsLNP) and cell-selective LNP (csLNP) technologies. Built on this delivery platform, the company develops an mRNA therapeutic pipeline including a preventive RSV vaccine (STR-V003), a personalized neoantigen cancer vaccine (STR-V005), and in vivo CAR-T cell therapy candidates (STR-P004, STR-P005) for autoimmune diseases. Manufacturing is supported by an in-house cGMP pilot production base in Suzhou BioBAY.

Product overview

Starna Therapeutics (星锐医药) operates a single unified platform-plus-pipeline architecture: the proprietary STAR LNP delivery platform — comprising tissue-specific LNP (tsLNP) and cell-selective LNP (csLNP) modules — serves as the core delivery engine, while the pipeline of mRNA drug candidates (STR-V003 preventive RSV vaccine, STR-V005 personalized tumor vaccine, STR-P004 in vivo cell therapy for autoimmune diseases, and STR-P005) are built on top of this delivery platform. The company develops, manufactures (in its cGMP facility in Suzhou), and clinically advances these RNA-based innovative drugs targeting unmet medical needs in infectious disease vaccines, cancer immunotherapy, and in vivo cell therapy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• STR-V003 (RSV mRNA vaccine) An RSV mRNA vaccine candidate encoding the pre-fusion F (preF) protein, composed of Starna's proprietary LNP and preF mRNA produced in-house at the cGMP facility, developed for prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Target users: healthy adult and elderly subjects enrolled in Phase 1 clinical trial. Received U.S. FDA IND approval in March 2024.
• STR-V005 (personalized neoantigen cancer vaccine) A personalized neoantigen cancer vaccine developed on Starna's LNP-mRNA technology platform using the proprietary NeoSTAR antigen prediction platform. Targets multiple solid tumors in combination with PD-1 drugs. Designed to activate antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to induce specific T cell activation and proliferation, with the ability to induce long-term immune memory. Manufactured on short timelines for individual patients. First patient dosed in April 2025.
• STR-P004 (in vivo CAR-T cell therapy for autoimmune disease) An in vivo cell therapy product candidate targeting autoimmune diseases, leveraging Starna's STAR-LNP delivery platform for in vivo CAR-T applications. The program uses Starna's cell-selective LNP (csLNP) technology to deliver mRNA encoding CAR constructs for in vivo generation of CAR-T cells.
• STR-P005 (pipeline product) A pipeline product referenced on Starna's pipeline page; specific therapeutic area and development stage not publicly disclosed. Listed on the company's R&D pipeline as an in vivo cell therapy candidate targeting autoimmune diseases.
• STAR LNP Delivery Platform (Tissue-specific LNP / tsLNP) Proprietary tissue-specific LNP (tsLNP) delivery platform licensed/out-licensed to pharmaceutical partners for co-development (e.g., Genexine for pulmonary disease). Built on a library of thousands of novel cationic lipid chemical entities and tens of thousands of nanoparticle formulations. Uses AI-driven computational screening combined with wet-lab validation to identify tissue-specific LNPs. Achieves targeted delivery to muscle, pancreas, lung, spleen, and liver, validated in beagle dogs and cynomolgus monkeys. Patents granted.
• STAR LNP Delivery Platform (Cell-selective LNP / csLNP) Proprietary cell-selective LNP (csLNP) technology licensed/out-licensed to pharmaceutical partners. Generated by conjugating ligands (e.g., antibodies, proteins) onto LNPs to target specific subcellular types. Has promising applications for in vivo cell therapy (in-vivo CAR-T), enabling targeting of T cells, APCs, and other specific cell subtypes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Proprietary lipid library: thousands of unique cationic lipid molecules, ten thousand+ LNP formulations screened
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship strategic alliance, educational/academic alliance, core strategic alliance, major consortium partner, core operational partner and major project consortium partner.

• Genexine (KOSDAQ: 095700)flagship strategic allianceStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 April 2025Strategic collaboration to leverage Starna's STAR-LNP lung-targeted delivery platform for novel pulmonary disease therapeutics. Both parties will collaborate on preclinical candidate screening and validation, CMC production, and joint advancement of projects into clinical development. Genexine is a Korean-listed biopharmaceutical company.
• Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Huihu Pharmacy College (西交利物浦大学慧湖药学院)educational/academic allianceStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2024Industry-university collaboration exchange with the Huihu Pharmacy College. Discussions covered industry-university cooperation, talent cultivation, internship/employment, and research collaboration opportunities. Faculty Dean Prof. Fu Lei and others toured the R&D labs and cGMP pilot workshop. Plans for future cooperation in talent development and joint research.
• Shixi Bio (时夕（广州）生物科技有限公司)core strategic allianceStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2024Strategic cooperation to co-explore RNA gene-editing drugs for lung diseases. Shixi Bio's MINIC RNA platform gene-editing drugs will be precisely delivered to lungs using Starna's proprietary STAR-LNP delivery platform. Plans to jointly screen preclinical candidate molecules (PCC) and advance to clinical development.
• Kaituo Bio (楷拓生物科技（苏州）有限公司)major consortium partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 December 2023Joint application with Kaituo Bio and the National Biomedical Technology Innovation Center for the 2023 Jiangsu Provincial Science Plan Major Project 'Basic Research and Key Innovative Technologies for Novel Nucleic Acid Drugs'. Both parties will conduct comprehensive cooperation in nucleic acid drug development to address key scientific and technical challenges.
• Shenji Biotech (江苏申基生物科技有限公司)core strategic allianceImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 19 December 2023Strategic cooperation agreement for full-spectrum collaboration in mRNA raw materials, lipid chemistry, lipid nanoparticles (LNP), and complex formulations. Both parties will integrate Shenji's upstream mRNA raw materials strength with Starna's LNP delivery technology platform to advance mRNA and nucleic acid products in infectious disease vaccines, gene editing, and autologous cell therapy. Shenji is described as a leading mRNA drug raw material supplier.
• Suzhou University Pharmacy College (苏州大学药学院)educational/academic allianceStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 2022Joint post-doctoral researcher recruitment program across multiple research directions including chemistry and delivery systems, cell and gene therapy, nucleic acid drugs, and novel vaccines. Post-doctoral fellows receive annual salary of CNY 400-500K plus benefits. Excellent postdocs may be retained as middle/senior management at Starna or stay in academia.
• GenScript ProBio (金斯瑞蓬勃生物)core operational partnerImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 17 August 2022Cooperation on preclinical CMC for mRNA project. GenScript ProBio will provide exclusive services for preclinical CMC of mRNA plasmid-related work for Starna's pipeline, leveraging its GMP-grade plasmid manufacturing platform for IVT template linearized plasmids. GenScript ProBio has China largest commercial GMP plasmid facility and supports multiple mRNA vaccine IND approvals.
• National Biomedical Technology Innovation Center (国家生物药技术创新中心 / 国创中心)major project consortium partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint consortium member for major national research projects. Includes: 2023 Jiangsu Provincial Science Plan Major Project on nucleic acid drug technology research (with Kaituo Bio); 2023 National Biotech Innovation Center Cell Therapy 'Jie Bang Gua Shuai' Major Project. Also received award for jointly tackling 2024 National Science and Technology Major Special Project on glioma 'cold tumor' immunotherapy with multiple academic medical institutions.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Stemirna Therapeutics (斯微生物): Shanghai-based clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics company developing mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. Comparable as a Chinese peer pursuing mRNA drug development with similar pipeline breadth in oncology and infectious disease vaccines, and competing for the same investor syndicate and out-licensing partners.
• Abogen Biosciences (艾博生物): Suzhou-based mRNA therapeutics company with COVID-19 mRNA vaccine approved in China/Indonesia and a broader pipeline in infectious disease and oncology. Highly comparable as a Chinese mRNA biotech competing in similar therapeutic areas and with overlapping LNP delivery technology focus.
• Walvax Biotechnology (沃森生物): Chinese listed biotech (300142.SZ) with active mRNA vaccine programs including COVID-19 and RSV mRNA vaccines in collaboration with Abogen/Stemirna. Comparable as a domestic Chinese competitor pursuing FDA-ready mRNA RSV vaccines and building extrahepatic delivery capability.
• Arcturus Therapeutics: US-based clinical-stage mRNA medicines company with proprietary LNP delivery technology and validated pipeline including a marketed COVID-19 vaccine (Kostaive) partnership with CSL. Comparable as a platform company whose value proposition centers on differentiated LNP delivery technology applied across vaccines and rare disease.
• CanSinoBIO (康希诺生物): Hong Kong-listed Chinese vaccine company (6185.HK) developing viral vector, mRNA, and other vaccine modalities. Comparable as a Chinese vaccine developer with similar cross-modality pipeline strategy, including mRNA COVID-19 vaccine development, competing for the same China market and global out-licensing partners.
• Ribo Bio (瑞博生物): Chinese clinical-stage RNAi therapeutics company developing siRNA drugs with proprietary GalNAc delivery technology. Comparable as a Chinese nucleic acid drug developer with proprietary delivery platform IP, competing for similar investor base and out-licensing opportunities in the broader RNA therapeutics space.

Broad incumbents

• Moderna: Global mRNA therapeutics leader with a deep clinical pipeline across infectious disease vaccines (including RSV mRNA-1345), oncology, and rare disease. Comparable as the dominant incumbent in mRNA therapeutics with overlapping target indications (RSV, personalized cancer vaccines) that Starna is also pursuing.
• BioNTech: Global mRNA therapeutics leader with approved COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty) and active pipeline in oncology (FixVac, iNeST personalized neoantigen vaccines) and infectious disease. Comparable as a broad incumbent pursuing the same end applications — personalized cancer vaccines and mRNA infectious disease vaccines — using LNP delivery technology.
• CSPC Pharmaceutical (石药集团): Hong Kong-listed major Chinese pharmaceutical company (1093.HK) with active mRNA vaccine programs and a SYSiT-platform LNP/mRNA technology. Comparable as a well-capitalized Chinese pharma incumbent investing in mRNA and LNP delivery technology with overlapping therapeutic areas.

Others

• Acuitas Therapeutics: Canadian LNP delivery technology company whose ionizable lipid technology is used in Pfizer-BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccine. Comparable as a pure-play LNP delivery platform provider/partner to mRNA therapeutics developers — relevant for benchmarking Starna's STAR-LNP technology positioning and potential partnership dynamics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/starna-therapeutics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors10 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Starna Therapeutics