Sino-US biotech Vivatides closes USD 54m Series A for extrahepatic RNA therapeutics

Vivatides Therapeutics, a biotechnology company with operations in Woburn, Massachusetts and Suzhou, China focused on extrahepatic RNA-targeting therapeutics, has closed an oversubscribed USD 54 million Series A financing round to advance its RNA delivery platform beyond liver-targeted applications.

The round was co-led by Qiming Venture Partners and an unnamed industry fund, with participation from Highlight Capital, TF Capital, and existing seed investor Apricot Capital. Proceeds will be directed +toward advancing the company's extrahepatic delivery platform, progressing multiple pipeline programs toward clinical development, and expanding its global research and development network. Vivatides said it completed both its seed round — reported at approximately USD 10 million and led by Apricot Capital — and the Series A within less than one year of the company's founding in 2025.

The company's pipeline remains preclinical, with the Series A proceeds earmarked for IND-enabling studies across programs spanning two modalities: small interfering RNA (siRNA) and antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). Vivatides has cited hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and oncology as target disease areas, positioning itself to pursue high-prevalence chronic conditions rather than the rare disease indications that have historically characterized the RNA therapeutics field. No named drug candidates or specific molecular targets have been publicly disclosed.

The scientific rationale for the platform centers on a delivery problem that has constrained RNA therapeutics since the modality's earliest clinical applications. Approved siRNA drugs have largely relied on GalNAc conjugation to direct molecules to the liver via the asialoglycoprotein receptor, a strategy that exploits the liver's unique anatomical accessibility. Vivatides is building around ligand conjugation approaches designed to direct siRNA and ASO molecules to non-hepatic cell types through receptor-mediated endocytosis, aiming to replicate the liver-targeting logic for extrahepatic tissues. The company said it has achieved advances in ligand conjugation, delivery efficiency, tissue targeting specificity, and chemical stability, with in vivo results already generated.

Keming Zhou, who founded Vivatides, leads the company. The press release describes the leadership team as drawing on experience from established RNA therapeutics organizations, with members said to have previously contributed to extrahepatic RNA programs that reached clinical development.

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