Grünenthal strengthens its Genetic Medicine Capabilities and joins the Cluster for Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Munich

Joining the CNATM provides Grünenthal with a valuable platform to strengthen its oligonucleotide drug discovery capabilities and connect its growing internal expertise with one of Germany’s leading academic and biotech innovation ecosystems. Over the last few years, Grünenthal has built strategic in-house capabilities to advance oligonucleotide modalities, including antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and small interfering RNA (siRNA), as potential therapeutic approaches for pain and related neurological indications.

One of Grünenthal’s key objectives for the collaboration is to improve the understanding of oligonucleotide design, delivery and cellular activity, with a particular focus on targeted delivery of siRNA and related approaches to neuronal cells and tissues relevant for pain, epilepsy and neurodegenerative disorders. By working closely with CNATM partners, Grünenthal aims to leverage the cluster’s strong academic expertise and active biotech innovation network in Munich and across Germany to accelerate progress in this complex and rapidly evolving field. The collaboration is also intended to help seed innovation across the cluster, creating scientific insights, technologies and therapeutic concepts that could be advanced internally, through partnerships or new biotech ventures.

"We look forward to collaborating with our CNATM-partners and connecting cutting-edge academic science with a patient-outcome-focused industry perspective," says Uli Brödl, Chief Scientific Officer at Grünenthal. "With the CNATM, we are joining a group of like-minded experts striving to address unmet needs through innovation, and I am delighted for our teams to advance novel approaches with the leading members from the German and international nucleic acid therapeutics community."

The cooperation with the CNATM connects Grünenthal to an innovation network comprising scientists from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, the Technical University of Munich, the universities of Regensburg and Würzburg, the Helmholtz Centre Munich and 14 companies driving innovation in genetic medicine from the wider Munich region.