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§ Public · Natick, MA, USA
Sionna Therapeutics is a technology company.
Sionna Therapeutics has raised $290.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Key people at Sionna Therapeutics.
Sionna Therapeutics was founded in 2018 by Mark Munson (Co-Founder and Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry) and Greg Hurlbut (Co-Founder and SVP Head of Research).
Sionna Therapeutics has raised $290.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Sionna Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments to normalize the function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. The company utilizes a unique approach by directly stabilizing the nucleotide-binding domain 1 (NBD1) of the CFTR protein. Its pipeline includes small molecules specifically engineered to correct the defects caused by the prevalent F508del genetic mutation, complemented by synergistic CFTR modulators designed to enhance overall function.
The company was founded in 2019 by Greg Hurlbut, Ph.D., and Mark Munson, Ph.D., leveraging over a decade of the co-founders’ extensive research on the NBD1 target. This foundational insight stemmed from the understanding that NBD1, the site of the F508del mutation, presented a crucial but previously unaddressed target for fully restoring CFTR function, as existing therapies do not directly stabilize this domain. Their combined expertise provided the impetus to pursue this differentiated therapeutic strategy.
Sionna Therapeutics aims to serve individuals living with cystic fibrosis by delivering medicines that offer clinically meaningful benefits beyond current treatment paradigms. Its overarching vision is to establish a leading franchise in CF treatment, anchored by NBD1 stabilizers, which are believed to be essential for unlocking the full potential of CFTR restoration. The company is committed to transforming patient outcomes by bringing CFTR function as close to normal as possible.
Sionna Therapeutics was founded in 2018 by Mark Munson (Co-Founder and Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry) and Greg Hurlbut (Co-Founder and SVP Head of Research).
Sionna Therapeutics has raised $290.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Sionna Therapeutics's investors include Edd Fleming, Atlas Venture, OrbiMed, Third Rock Ventures, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Perceptive Advisors, Q Healthcare Holdings, RA Capital Management, Michael Cloonan, TPG, T. Rowe Price Associates, Viking Global Investors.
Sionna Therapeutics has raised $290.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $180.0M Series C in March 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2024 | $180M Series C | EDD Fleming | Atlas Venture, OrbiMed, Third Rock Ventures, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Perceptive Advisors, Q Healthcare Holdings, RA Capital Management, Michael Cloonan, TPG, T. Rowe Price Associates, Viking Global Investors | Announced |
| Apr 1, 2022 | $110M Series B | OrbiMed | Atlas Venture, Third Rock Ventures, Michael Boyle, Q Healthcare Holdings, Joshua Resnick, Lucian Iancovici, T. Rowe Price Associates | Announced |
Key people at Sionna Therapeutics.
# Sionna Therapeutics: Correcting the Record
Sionna Therapeutics is not a technology company—it is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel medicines for cystic fibrosis (CF).[1][4] The premise of your query contains an inaccuracy that should be clarified before proceeding with analysis.
Sionna Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company on a mission to revolutionize cystic fibrosis treatment by developing small molecule drugs that restore function to the CFTR protein.[4] The company serves CF patients by targeting the molecular root cause of the disease, particularly the ∆F508-CFTR mutation, which is the most common CF-causing genetic variant.[2][4]
The core problem Sionna addresses is that existing CF treatments provide only partial restoration of CFTR function. Sionna's approach aims to deliver "clinically meaningful benefit" by directly stabilizing CFTR's nucleotide-binding domain 1 (NBD1) through a portfolio of small molecules designed to work synergistically with complementary CFTR modulators.[2][4] This represents a differentiated therapeutic strategy leveraging more than a decade of scientific research by its co-founders on the NBD1 target.
Sionna was founded in August 2019 by Greg Hurlbut and Mark Munson, two experienced drug developers from Sanofi Genzyme.[1][2] Greg Hurlbut, now Senior Vice President of Discovery Research, was formerly Head of Protein Conformational Diseases and Rare Pulmonary Diseases Research at Sanofi Genzyme, where his research led to a novel strategy for discovering small molecules targeting ∆F508-CFTR. He secured $32 million in grant funding from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Development Initiative to support CF drug discovery.[2]
Mark Munson, Senior Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry, brings nearly 30 years of biopharmaceutical drug development experience, including leadership of medicinal chemistry at Sanofi where he advanced multiple development candidates in oncology and rare disease.[2] The company is headquartered in Waltham, MA, and is led by CEO Mike Aguirre, a biotech executive with over 20 years of experience, most recently as Chief Operating Officer at Sage Therapeutics.[2]
Sionna operates within the rare disease biopharmaceutical sector, specifically addressing cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder affecting approximately 30,000 people in the U.S. The company is riding the trend of precision medicine and mechanism-based drug discovery, where understanding the molecular basis of disease enables more targeted, effective treatments. The timing is favorable given advances in structural biology and protein engineering that make NBD1 stabilization feasible.
As a clinical-stage company, Sionna contributes to the broader CF treatment ecosystem by pursuing a complementary approach to existing therapies (such as Vertex's CFTR modulators), potentially offering CF patients with different genetic backgrounds or treatment resistance new therapeutic options.
Sionna's success hinges on advancing its NBD1 stabilizers through clinical trials and demonstrating superior efficacy compared to existing CFTR modulators. The company's differentiated mechanism and experienced leadership position it as a meaningful player in CF therapeutics, though clinical and regulatory risks remain inherent to early-stage biopharmaceutical development. As the company progresses Phase 1 programs toward Phase 2 trials, data readouts will be critical in validating whether NBD1 stabilization delivers the transformative outcomes the company envisions for CF patients.
