Wedoany.com Report-Apr. 7, Wacker Biotech, a key player in contract development and manufacturing, fully owned by Wacker Chemie AG in Munich, Germany, has entered into a strategic partnership with RNAV8 Bio, a Boston-based leader in mRNA engineering. Announced on April 6, 2025, this collaboration focuses on advancing the development and production of mRNA-based therapies for the biopharmaceutical sector.
Wacker Biotech US Inc. operates microbial fermentation lines with a capacity of up to 650 L for production and purification of pDNA, as well as pharmaceutical proteins
The partnership merges Wacker Biotech’s strengths in producing plasmid DNA (pDNA), mRNA, and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations with RNAV8 Bio’s cutting-edge mRNA engineering technology. RNAV8 Bio’s toolkit targets the optimization of untranslated regions (UTRs)—non-coding parts of mRNA essential for its stability, transport, and translation. Enhancing these UTRs can improve the performance of mRNA-based drugs, making therapies more effective.
Together, Wacker Biotech and RNAV8 Bio aim to deliver a complete service, from design to production, addressing the rising need for advanced mRNA therapeutics. This collaboration establishes them as top-tier providers in the mRNA field, offering tailored solutions to biopharma clients worldwide.
Devan Shah, CEO of RNAV8 Bio, emphasized the significance of the partnership: “As the therapeutic potential of mRNA rapidly expands into high-value applications across genetic and common diseases, more predictive control over mRNA function becomes critical. RNAV8’s approach represents a major advance, enabling highly efficient and/or more durable mRNA expression at potentially lower doses. With its impressive manufacturing capabilities and clear track record in mRNA/LNP GMP production for scale-up, Wacker Biotech is an ideal partner for RNAV8 and its therapeutics collaborators.”
Philippe Cronet, General Manager of Wacker Biotech US Inc., also shared his enthusiasm: “We are thrilled to collaborate with RNAV8 Bio. In combination with WACKER’s nucleic acids R&D team, this partnership enables us to offer clients a top-of-the-line, market-leading solution for mRNA therapeutics optimization and manufacturing. On clients’ behalf, we will work with RNAV8 to optimize UTR non-coding sequences to maximize the expression of mRNA in the target cells. Drug developers will have enhanced abilities to rapidly prototype, test, iterate, and scale up their mRNA therapeutics. Ultimately, this holds the promise of improving drug efficacy and accelerating the development process.”
This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to innovation, combining expertise to meet the evolving demands of the biopharma industry. By streamlining the creation and production of mRNA therapies, Wacker Biotech and RNAV8 Bio are set to support drug developers in bringing advanced treatments to market more efficiently.
