TransCode Therapeutics, an RNA oncology company, has developed a modular, iron oxide nanoparticle–based nanocarrier system for the delivery of RNA therapeutics to tumors. The platform overcomes issues of stability, efficiency, and immunogenicity faced by existing lipid and liposomal nanoparticle platforms while optimizing targeting of and accumulation in tumor cells and metastatic sites.The company's lead therapeutic candidate, TTX-MC138, targets microRNA-10b (miRNA-10b), a master regulator of metastatic cell viability in a range of cancers, including breast, pancreatic, ovarian, colon cancer, glioblastomas and others. The company intends to file an exploratory investigational new drug (eIND) application to conduct its first-in-human clinical trial intended to be completed in 2H of 2022. Additionally, the Company will finalize IND-enabling studies for TTX-MC138 in order to file an IND for its Phase I/II clinical trial expected in 2023. The company's other preclinical programs include two solid tumor programs—TTX-siPDL1, a small interfering RNA (siRNA)–based modulator of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and TTX-siLin28b, an siRNA-based inhibitor of RNA-binding protein LIN28B—and three cancer agnostic programs—TTX-RIGA, an RNA–based agonist of the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)–driven immune response in the tumor microenvironment, TTX-CRISPR, a CRISPR/Cas9–based therapy platform for the repair or deletion of cancer-causing genes inside tumor cells, and TTX-mRNA, an mRNA-based platform for the development of cancer vaccines that activate cytotoxic immune responses against tumor cells. We believe that demonstrating our ability to overcome the challenge of RNA delivery to genetic targets outside of the liver would represent a major step forward in unlocking therapeutic access to genetic targets involved in a range of cancers.