Vision & Mission
Building the next generation of RNA biomanufacturing — affordable, scalable, and accessible to all.
Our Mission
Overcoming the Barriers to mRNA Medicine
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The ARISE consortium has set out to develop a tailor-made yeast-based platform for the large-scale, cost-effective manufacturing of mRNA and self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) therapeutics. Messenger RNA vaccines have become a game-changer in the fight against COVID-19, and mRNA is now considered the basis for a vast array of therapeutic applications — from cancer immunotherapy to rare genetic diseases.
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Currently, in vitro transcription (IVT) is the dominant technology for mRNA production. However, it relies on a complex, expensive supply chain and a costly purification process. This is a major barrier to large-scale production and makes mRNA medicines inaccessible to low-income countries and populations.
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ARISE addresses this challenge by harnessing the natural ability of yeast to produce mature mRNA — structurally similar to human mRNA — in fast-growing, industrially proven fermentation systems. By engineering controlled production and protective subcellular storage, ARISE will unlock truly scalable, affordable RNA biomanufacturing.
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The project also extends the platform to self-amplifying RNAs (saRNA), which encode both the therapeutic protein and the molecular machinery to copy themselves inside the host cell — dramatically amplifying therapeutic effect at lower doses.