m4 Award 2025 Goes to Helmholtz Munich for RNA Therapy Innovation
Researchers at Helmholtz Munich received the pre-seed competition m4 Award 2025 for their project SYNTRA, which develops new methods to deliver RNA-based medicines using artificial intelligence (AI). The award supports innovative medical research in Bavaria and was presented during the BioM conference BayOConnect in Munich.
The SYNTRA Project
RNA therapies hold great promise for treating many diseases by instructing cells to produce specific proteins. However, delivering RNA safely and precisely to the right cells has been a major challenge. The SYNTRA project, developed by researchers from the Institute of Developmental Genetics (IDG) and the Institute of Computational Biology (ICB) at Helmholtz Munich, uses AI to design special “vehicles” that carry therapeutic RNA directly to targeted cells. This approach aims to make RNA treatments more effective and reduce side effects, potentially helping patients with a variety of genetic and non-genetic diseases.
Support for Early-Stage Biomedical Innovations
The m4 Award offers funding of up to €500,000 per project to support the early stages of biomedical technology development and solve urgent medical challenges. In the most recent round, a total of €2.5 million was allocated to five research teams across Bavaria, each addressing distinct health conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. The funding is intended to help researchers progress from initial laboratory work toward forming companies capable of developing and delivering new therapeutic approaches.
The winners of the m4 Award2025 at Helmholtz Munich:
Dr. Florian Giesert
Prof. Dr. Fabian Theis
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wurst
Leon Hetzel
Dr. Christoph Gruber
SYNTRA: AI-assisted development of synthetic RNA transfer vehicles
The targeted delivery of therapeutic RNA is crucial for modern gene therapies – yet it remains a major challenge. SYNTRA is developing RNA transfer vehicles (STVs) with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) that, for the first time, enable safe and precise RNA therapy. Generative AI is used to create design variants of these vehicles. This modularity makes it possible to deliver therapeutic RNA with high precision and efficiency specifically into disease-relevant cell types. In this way, STVs enable the targeted treatment of a wide range of genetic and non-genetic diseases.
About the m4 Award
With the m4 Award, initiated in 2011 by BioM, the network organization of the biotechnology industry in Munich and Bavaria, the Free State of Bavaria promotes innovative products, technologies or services of young companies that decisively advance the further development of medicine of the future. The prize is awarded every two years, and 17 spin-offs have been realized since then.
©BioM Biotech Cluster Development GmbH / Bert Willer
