mRNA's Next Act: Strand Secures $153M for Cancer Fight

Boston biotech secures major funding as investors back oncology applications of mRNA

9 Aug 2025

Strand Therapeutics has raised $153mn to develop messenger RNA-based cancer treatments, one of the largest private financings in the US biotech sector this year.

The Boston-based company said on August 7 that the round was led by Swedish investment group Kinnevik, with participation from Regeneron Ventures, Amgen Ventures and Eli Lilly. The deal highlights a shift in investor focus for mRNA technologies from vaccines developed during the pandemic to applications in oncology.

"This marks a shift from prevention to precision treatment," one analyst said, noting growing confidence in therapies that can stimulate immune responses directly within tumours.

Strand's lead programme, STX-001, delivers genetic instructions into tumours, encouraging them to produce their own cancer-fighting proteins. Early clinical results presented this year suggested the treatment had a favourable safety profile and initial signs of efficacy. Trials combining the therapy with checkpoint inhibitors, a class of immunotherapy drugs, are planned.

The company's financing comes amid a broader reallocation of biotech capital. While public funding for mRNA vaccines is waning, private investment is increasingly targeting oncology, where regulatory pathways and pricing models are seen as more established. Strand's ability to attract heavyweight backers places it among the frontrunners in the emerging mRNA oncology field, which has also seen a rise in acquisitions and strategic alliances.

Delivering mRNA into solid tumours remains a technical challenge, and clinical evidence for many approaches is limited. But industry sentiment is shifting. "This kind of backing shows mRNA in oncology is no longer just experimental. It's a real growth engine," a biotech executive said.

Strand's fundraising underscores the growing expectation that mRNA platforms could extend well beyond vaccines, with the potential to reshape cancer treatment in the coming years.