Western University Spin-Off Earns Top Prize at Start-up Pitch Competition
Congratulations to Dr. Subrata Chakrabarti and his team from i-RNA for winning the Grand Prize at the EFFERVESCENCE Start-up Pitch Competition in the Biopharmaceuticals and Biotechnologies division. i-RNA also won the overall Impact Award.
i-RNA is a spin-off company established by Dr. Subrata Chakrabarti and Dr. Ting Ling in April 2024. i-RNA is developing a gene therapy targeting long non-coding RNA HOTAIR and can be used to treat diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is a main cause of blindness in the working age population worldwide. The treatment being developed can be used both as an intraocular injection or as an eyedrop. If successful, i-RNA’s technology will prevent blindness in the diabetic population and treating diabetic retinopathy using an eyedrop is an innovative technique not currently on the market.
