1 October 2023

NANEMIAR is a three-year project funded under the HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06 call Grant Agreement No 101080156, coordinated by the IMIB-FFIS, Murcia Spain. The consortium consists of 3 partners from 3 European countries.

The bone marrow remains one of the most challenging tissues to access with RNA medicines, limiting the development of new treatments for many blood and genetic disorders. NANEMIAR aims to overcome this obstacle by creating next-generation lipid nanoparticle technologies capable of delivering therapeutic RNA directly to bone marrow cells.

Bringing together leading European academic and industrial partners, the project combines expertise in nanomedicine, RNA therapeutics, hematology, and translational research. Mercurna contributes its expertise in targeted RNA delivery and supports the consortium's innovation and exploitation activities.

The technologies developed within NANEMIAR have the potential to expand the reach of RNA therapeutics beyond the liver and enable novel treatments for diseases with high unmet medical need.

For more information, visit www.nanemiar.eu

Inflammatory kidney diseases are a major cause of chronic kidney disease that ultimately leads to kidney failure, where patients are dependent on dialysis or kidney transplantation. Although RNA-based medicines have shown tremendous potential in recent years, their application in kidney disease has been limited by the lack of efficient and selective delivery technologies.

The funded project aims to address this challenge by developing a kidney-targeting platform that enables the tissue-specific delivery of RNA therapeutics. The technology is based on our proprietary kidney-homing peptides that can direct therapeutic nucleic acids to specific kidney tissue. 

The collaboration combines Radboudumc's expertise in peptide biology and nanomedicine with Mercurna's capabilities in targeted RNA delivery and translational drug development. The project is expected to generate proof-of-concept data for kidney-targeted RNA therapeutics and further strengthen the translational and commercial potential of Mercurna's platform. 

"We are grateful for the support from Health~Holland and excited to further develop this innovative approach together with Radboudumc. The project represents an important step towards unlocking the full potential of RNA therapeutics for kidney diseases," said Jürgen Dieker, CSO of Mercurna.

9 April 2026

Mercurna closes extended Pre‑Seed financing, expanding on the 2023 raise and strengthening its position as a pioneer in targeted mRNA therapeutics as we prepare for our upcoming Seed round. 

The funding was supported by a committed group of informal investors and the regional investment agency OostNL, who bring a combination of strategic insights, entrepreneurial experience, and long‑term support to our next phase of growth. Their commitment underscores the strength of our scientific foundation and the rapidly expanding potential of targeted mRNA technologies.

“Closing this financing round marks an exciting inflection point for Mercurna,” said Jenny van Asbeck‑van der Wijst, CEO of Mercurna. “This funding enables us to accelerate the development of our lead candidate and continue building the capabilities needed to bring targeted mRNA therapies closer to the clinic. It also positions us strongly as we prepare for our upcoming financing round.”

With this Pre‑Seed funding, Mercurna is:

• Advancing mCura1 toward IND‑enabling activities, supported by strong preclinical proof‑of‑concept.
• Strengthening our ligand‑directed targeting technology, enabling precise delivery of RNA to disease‑driving tissues.
• Deepening strategic collaborations that enhance our nanomedicine, mRNA engineering, and targeted therapeutic development.

This milestone builds momentum for the company at a pivotal time, following recent achievements including new technological advancements, expanded partnerships, and growing international recognition.

Looking ahead, Mercurna is now gearing up for its Seed financing round to further accelerate the clinical translation of targeted mRNA therapeutics and expand the company’s innovative pipeline.

1 November 2024

To support its growing ambitions, Mercurna, a pre-clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a platform for life-changing medicines based on messenger RNA (mRNA), has moved into a new, larger laboratory at the BioMatTech Campus in Nijmegen.

The laboratory is equipped with all infrastructure to further develop Mercura's proprietary platform technology for mRNA-based medicines and advance the development of multiple lead-formulations based on the platform. Mercurna’s lead therapeutic candidate mCura1 is advancing toward the treatment of inflammatory kidney disease, supported by strong preclinical proof‑of‑concept results.

Being strategically positioned in Nijmegen enables close collaboration with key partners at Radboudumc, as well as access to their state‑of‑the‑art research facilities. In addition to its Nijmegen base, Mercurna maintains an important presence in Oss, reflecting its ongoing collaborations with major players across the biotech value chain.

"We are very happy that the BioMatTech Campus provides us with laboratory and office space solutions tailored to our needs and in addition provides us with a perspective for further expansion in the future", says Jenny van Asbeck, CEO of Mercuma.

https://biomattechcampus.eu/

1 October 2024

Mercurna is proud to announce that we have been awarded a highly competitive Eureka Eurostars grant of €900k to launch a new international R&D initiative, NANOMED‑KT. We will be working with Karolinska Institutet (SE),who bring proficiency in acute kidney injury and kidney transplantation. Together, we aim to develop a first-of-its-kind nanomedicine for prevention of delayed graft function (DGF), which manifests as acute kidney injury within the first week of kidney transplantation. DGF affects 20-60% of kidney transplant recipients, yet there are currently no approved drugs to prevent it. The project, which starts 1 October 2024 and will run for 3 years, addresses a significant unmet need for treatments that can improve graft survival rates and quality of life. 

Catalyze provided support to Mercurna during their development of the NANOMED-KT project proposal to Eurostars. We are proud of our successful collaboration towards bringing this project to life.

Dr. van Asbeck-van der Wijst explains the importance of their Eurostars funding:

“With the support of Eurostars, Mercurna can advance their research and development efforts, conduct essential preclinical studies, and move closer to clinical trials. The NANOMED-KT project aims to improve kidney transplant success rates and patient outcomes, aligning perfectly with our goal of creating innovative mRNA-based therapies.

1 October 2024

ORGESTRA is a four-year project funded by the EC HORIZON-MSCA-2023-DN-JD Grant Agreement No 101120108, coordinated by the University of Utrecht. The consortium of this project is made up of 14 partners from 7 European countries. The project started 1st January 2024 and will end in December 2027, having its first training event workshop involving all doctoral candidates at the beginning of November 2024.

The ORGESTRA project revolves around organoid technologies for disease modelling, drug discovery and development for rare diseases. The international network will train 13 doctoral candidates in developing personalized disease models using stem cell-derived organoids for rare diseases inclucine the lung and kidney diseases cystic fibrosis and cystinosis also with the aim to develop new therapeutic options tor patients suffering from these diseases.

For more information. visit www.orgestra.eu