New start-up aims to boost RNA insights for researchers, clinicians worldwide

Lilac Biosciences, a new biotechnology company that is an outgrowth of the Giuliani RNA Center, is poised to bring analytical platforms and solutions for RNA research to scientists and private enterprise worldwide, and its founder is excited for Brown to leave its mark on this emerging industry.

“Lilac is onto something big,” says Anubhav Tripathi, PhD, C.V. Starr Professor of Engineering and Lilac’s co-founder, who has long studied RNA diagnostics and related technologies. “I want to see RNA become a significant companion diagnostic component for pharmaceutical companies, but also for researching rare diseases.”

Lilac intends to “bridge the gap between discovery and translational RNA research,” says Tripathi, by offering various support services for RNA analysis and modifications, which involves altering the structure and properties of RNA at a molecular level. Among the services provided include assisting with sequencing, analyzing chemical modifications, assessing workflows, and verifying RNA integrity.

The company is leveraging one of the fastest-growing sectors in medicine in RNA therapeutics, he says, and arose out of his personal desire to push for the commercialization and translation of RNA technologies into both the public and private sector. The use of technologies like spectrometry devices and RNA extraction can be prohibitively expensive for some researchers. Providing precise measurements is vital to uncovering biomarkers, which can indicate different biological states, offering insight into how disease develops and reacts at the genome level, for research that leads to potential new therapies for patients.

“Mass spectrometry requires a lot of resources and that’s why certain avenues of RNA research have been so slow,” Tripathi says. “Currently, no one knows how certain signatures in RNA are related to various disease states, simply because we haven’t done the studies. The technology being advanced by Lilac allows a way to do it better and faster.”

That assistance will be key to RNA research across a breadth of platforms, in both the private and public sectors. Developing partnerships with both private and public organizations will be a major strategy for Lilac moving forward. Most recently, it signed an agreement with Soin Neuroscience, a developer of neuromodulation technologies for chronic pain.

“Lilac is currently working on several other partnerships and we are off to a very good start,” Tripathi says.

There are also benefits to Brown students and faculty, he says. Lilac will offer them a chance to see how companies within the RNA industry operate, providing educational opportunities through internships and lab work, while also offering direct connections to industry partners for new collaborations or even new start-ups for faculty to embark on.

“I would love to see additional faculty members open their own start-up companies. I hope to serve as a good example for them,” he says.

Tripathi credits Mukesh K. Jain, MD, dean of medicine and biological sciences, for his encouragement in jumpstarting Lilac. He says Brown and its support systems have allowed him to succeed. He knows growing from a new company of about 10 people into an organization with an even greater footprint and research pipeline is ambitious, but he is happy to find steady, early success.

“We’re taking it one step at a time,” he says. “I’m so thankful to [Jain] for giving me a vision to do all of this. It’s a victory for our RNA center.”