San Diego, Calif. & Lausanne, Switzerland– HAYA Therapeutics, a biotechnology company specializing in RNA-guided therapies that reprogram disease-driving cell states, has announced the relocation of its U.S. operations to Lilly Gateway Labs in San Diego. The move is part of the company’s broader strategy to scale up research and development activities and accelerate clinical progress for its novel therapeutic platform.
The new site, operated by Eli Lilly and Company in partnership with Alexandria Real Estate Equities, offers state-of-the-art lab space and strategic access to a thriving biotech innovation ecosystem. HAYA’s San Diego team will focus on advanced functional genomics, support clinical development, and drive progress on its lead candidate HTX-001, a first-in-class long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) therapy targeting non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a form of heart failure.
“Moving our U.S. site to Lilly Gateway Labs marks an important step in the scale-up of our operations,” said Samir Ounzain, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of HAYA Therapeutics. “This world-class facility provides the infrastructure and collaborative environment we need to advance our precision RNA-guided therapeutics platform with speed, scalability, and scientific rigor.”
HAYA’s proprietary platform is based on decoding the regulatory genome—the genetic system that controls when and how genes are expressed. The company has developed a comprehensive Regulatory Genome Atlas, powered by multi-modal functional genomics and machine learning, to identify and modulate pathogenic cell states in chronic and age-related diseases.
The move follows HAYA’s recent $65 million Series A financing round, co-led by Sofinnova Partners and Earlybird Venture Capital, with participation from Eli Lilly and Company and Alexandria Venture Investments. The funding supports the advancement of HAYA’s platform and therapeutic pipeline, including its ongoing collaboration with Lilly to explore RNA-based treatments for obesity and metabolic disorders.
Lilly Gateway Labs is part of Lilly’s Catalyze360™ initiative, which connects emerging biotechs to Lilly’s scientific expertise and global resources. While now operating within this ecosystem, HAYA remains an independent entity and retains full ownership of its assets and intellectual property.
By expanding into this dynamic research hub, HAYA aims to accelerate its mission to develop next-generation medicines that directly reprogram the cellular drivers of disease and improve outcomes for patients with high unmet medical needs.
