Korsana Biosciences
Category: AI in Biotech / Drug Discovery
A biotechnology company developing next-generation brain-penetrating antibody therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, starting with Alzheimer's disease. Korsana Biosciences was founded in 2024. The company is led by Jonathan Violin. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $555M. Key investors include Fairmount, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Wellington Management, TCGX, General Atlantic, Forbion, RA Capital Management, RTW Investments, J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, Sanofi Ventures, Foresite Capital, Janus Henderson Investors.
- Founded
- 2024
- Headquarters
- Waltham, Massachusetts, United States
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $555M
Value proposition
Best-in-class brain-penetrating Alzheimer's antibody with improved safety (lower ARIA risk), convenient monthly subcutaneous dosing, and enhanced CNS exposure via proprietary THETA™ shuttle technology
Products and solutions
KRSA-028 (lead, THETA™-enabled anti-3pE/pyroglutamate amyloid beta mAb for Alzheimer's; IND-enabling/preclinical), THETA™ platform (Therapeutic Targeting — TfR1-based BBB-penetrant shuttle with Fc engineering), 2 additional undisclosed THETA-enabled pipeline programs for neurodegenerative diseases
Unique value
Proprietary THETA™ TfR1-based shuttle platform designed to overcome limitations of earlier brain shuttle technologies, enabling dramatically higher drug concentration in the brain with improved safety and subcutaneous administration
Target customer
Alzheimer's disease patients and healthcare providers; neurodegenerative disease patients
Industries served
Biotechnology, Alzheimer's disease, Neurodegenerative diseases, CNS therapeutics
Technology advantage
THETA™ platform — proprietary TfR1-based blood-brain barrier shuttle with clinically validated transferrin receptor and Fc engineering; designed to increase amyloid plaque clearance, reduce ARIA and hematologic adverse events, and enable low-volume subcutaneous administration; discovered in partnership with Paragon Therapeutics (7th Paragon-spawned company)
How they differentiate
Unlike first-gen anti-amyloid antibodies (Leqembi, Kisunla) which have limited brain penetration, KRSA-028 uses THETA™ shuttle for enhanced CNS delivery. Compared to Roche's trontinemab (IV, high infusion reactions), KRSA-028 aims for monthly subcutaneous dosing with reduced effector function to lower ARIA risk. Differentiated by dialed-down effector function to reduce macrophage-mediated vascular damage.
Main competitors
Roche (trontinemab, Phase 3 anti-amyloid with TfR1 shuttle), AbbVie (acquired Aliada Therapeutics for $1.4B, TfR1-shuttled anti-amyloid), Eisai/Biogen (Leqembi, approved anti-amyloid), Eli Lilly (Kisunla, approved anti-amyloid), Alector Therapeutics (AL137, anti-amyloid with brain delivery tech), SciNeuro/Novartis (collaboration on shuttled anti-amyloid)
Key partnerships
Paragon Therapeutics (discovery partner, developed THETA™ platform and KRSA-028), Cyclerion Therapeutics (reverse merger agreement to go public, expected Q3 2026)
Major milestones
Founded 2024 with $25M seed from Fairmount and Venrock, Sep 2025: $150M Series A co-led by Wellington Management and TCGX, Feb 2026: Emerged from stealth with $175M total raised, Apr 2026: Announced reverse merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CYCN) with concurrent $380M PIPE, Expected mid-2027: Phase 1 healthy volunteer data, Expected end of 2027: Proof-of-concept amyloid clearance data in Alzheimer's patients
Market positioning
Late preclinical-stage biotech positioning to be best-in-class among next-generation brain-shuttled Alzheimer's antibodies, with a path to clinical proof-of-concept by end of 2027 and a planned Nasdaq listing via reverse merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics
Geographic focus
United States (headquartered in Waltham, MA); global Alzheimer's disease market
Patents and IP
Proprietary THETA™ (Therapeutic Targeting) platform technology; TfR1-based shuttle and Fc engineering IP; discovered in partnership with Paragon Therapeutics
About Jonathan Violin
Ex-Founding CEO of Viridian Therapeutics; Founding CEO of Dianthus Therapeutics; Co-founder of Quellis Biosciences (acquired by Catabasis); Interim CEO of Crescent Biopharma; Venture Partner at Fairmount; Various roles at Trevena; Ph.D. in Pharmacology from UC San Diego; MBA from Duke University
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Official website: https://korsana.com/
