Cisterna Biologics
ActiveHigh quality mRNA for therapeutic application
This company has previously operated under “Cisterna Biologics LLC”, “Cisterna Biologic”. A rename frequently marks a pivot in positioning or product — useful raw material for variant ideas.
About
Founded in 2022 and based in San Diego, California, Cisterna Biologics is a technology company. It aims to solve some of the challenges currently facing the biotech industry to develop mRNA-based therapeutics – quality, quantity, longevity and cost of mRNA. As mRNA technology matures, it becomes imperative that these issues are solved so we can fully explore mRNA's endless possibilities as a therapeutic. Cisterna uses proprietary technologies to either remove a contaminant at its source or replace the source itself. For example, to remove double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), we use ribozymes - molecular scissors - to precisely cut the mRNA at its 3’ end. This assures not only 3’ homogeneity, but also eliminates dsRNA, which are primarily produced due to self-templated additions at the 3’ end. Utilizing a PCR-like system to amplify the DNA template in large quantities eliminates the requirement for plasmid enrichment in bacteria, the prime source of endotoxin contamination. These are just a few examples of Cisterna’s powerful technologies being used to achieve our goal of 10x higher quality mRNA for therapeutic application.
Founders · 1
Hari Bhaskaran's journey with RNAs started with ribozymes (catalytic RNAs) almost 20 years ago in the labs of Rick Russell at UT Austin. His PhD work was focused on mechanistic understanding of RNA folding, culminating in a seminal publication in Nature (see Bhaskaran and Russell, 2007). Since then, he has held positions of increasing responsibilities in both academia and industry. He is the author of several publications and industry patents.
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