Cisterna Biologics

Cisterna Biologics, established in 2022 and headquartered in San Diego, California, is a biotechnology company focused on overcoming key obstacles in the development of mRNA-based therapeutics. These challenges include ensuring high quality, sufficient quantity, extended longevity, and cost-effectiveness of mRNA production. As mRNA technology continues to advance, addressing these critical issues is essential to fully unlock its potential as a therapeutic modality.

Cisterna Biologics employs proprietary technologies to eliminate contaminants at their source or replace the source altogether. For instance, to mitigate double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) contamination, they utilize ribozymes—molecular scissors—to precisely cleave the mRNA at its 3' end. This process guarantees 3' homogeneity and effectively removes dsRNA, which primarily arises from self-templated additions at the 3' end. Furthermore, Cisterna utilizes a PCR-like system to amplify the DNA template in large quantities, eliminating the need for plasmid enrichment in bacteria, a primary source of endotoxin contamination. These examples illustrate Cisterna's commitment to achieving significantly higher quality mRNA for therapeutic applications.