Author: rianatx

Posted on

Career

We are always looking for exciting people who share our passion for developing novel cancer drugs for the benefit of patients around the world. If you are highly motivated to contribute to the fight against cancer, please get in touch at office@rianatx.com and we will get in touch with you.

We have no vacancies at the moment.

Posted on

RIANA Therapeutics signs license agreement with Vetmeduni and expands team

June 15, 2023 | Vienna, Austria

In spring 2023, RIANA Therapeutics, a spin-off of Vetmeduni, kicked off its operations. With the aim of developing innovative cancer therapeutics, this biotech start-up leverages groundbreaking scientific insights from Vetmeduni’s Unit of Functional Cancer Genomics. A significant milestone has now been achieved with the signing of a license and cooperation agreement with the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.

Vice Rector Otto Doblhoff-Dier expressed his satisfaction with the successful transfer of Vetmeduni’s technologies into practical applications and praised the accomplishments of the RIANA Therapeutics team: “Every spin-off requires intensive scientific and organizational work, which the team has handled remarkably and with great professionalism.”

By finalizing the license agreement with Vetmeduni, Anna Orlova, co-founder, inventor, and CEO of RIANA, can celebrate a major success. The agreement grants the company exclusive worldwide rights to use the knowledge and findings on a platform technology for drug discovery that Orlova and her co-founder Richard Moriggl have developed at Vetmeduni over the past years. Additionally, RIANA gains access to office and laboratory facilities at the University Campus in Floridsdorf, Vienna, through a cooperation agreement with Vetmeduni. This allowed the young company to start its work without delay shortly after its establishment in April 2023.

Since May 2023, Anna Orlova, a passionate cancer researcher and entrepreneur, has been supported by Christine Ruckenbauer. With her nearly 20 years of expertise in technology transfer at Vetmeduni and her experience as the CEO of Vetmeduni’s research holding, where she successfully accompanied several spin-off companies since 2010, Ruckenbauer brings valuable contributions to the team. “After having mentored the RIANA team in my role at Vetmeduni for several years, I am thrilled to now have the opportunity to directly contribute to the company,” says Ruckenbauer.

Fotos: Thomas Suchanek/Vetmeduni

About RIANA Therapeutics

RIANA Therapeutics was founded in February 2023 as a spin-off of Vetmeduni in Vienna by Anna Orlova, Richard Moriggl, and Oliver Szolar, an experienced entrepreneur in the biotech industry. The technological foundation is based on a proprietary platform technology for the discovery of compounds that target cancer-promoting protein-protein interactions (PPI), enabling a reliable search for inhibitors that block the formation of specific oncogenic PPIs. Building upon this novel proprietary technology, the team led by Orlova is working on developing new compounds specifically targeting Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), as well as blood cancers and certain types of solid tumors in general.

Posted on

RIANA: Viennese start-up develops novel, precise anti-cancer drugs

We are delighted to announce the incorporation of RIANA Therapeutics GmbH, a biotech startup focused on developing novel anti-cancer treatments. RIANA Therapeutics is a spinoff from Vetmeduni, devoted to discovering and developing innovative medicines. RIANA founders Richard Moriggl, Oliver Szolar, VetWidi, and Anna Orlova are very enthusiastic about committing to improving treatments for cancer patients. We are currently in the process of setting up research and development operations in Vienna and will keep you updated. See the full press release by Vetmeduni below:

https://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/universitaet/infoservice/presseinformationen/presseinformationen-2023/riana-viennese-start-up-develops-novel-precise-anti-cancer-drugs

Posted on

Partners

RIANA Therapeutics is funded by Seedfinancing – Deep Tech of the BMAW and the BMK, respectively, handled by aws. RIANA Therapeutics wird gefördert durch Seedfinancing – Deep Tech des BMAW bzw. des BMK, abgewickelt durch die aws.

Our academic and A+B partners
Vetmeduni Vienna
Vienna´s high-tech incubator
we are cooperating with
Lead Discovery Center
We are proud to be a partner / Member of
Posted on

Team & Founders

Anna Orlova, PhD
Co-founder and CEO

Anna Orlova is a trained molecular biologist with expertise in cancer biology. She did her PhD at the University of Vienna studying STAT3 and STAT5 transcription factors and possibilities to target them. Prior to her PhD studies, she completed her MSc in molecular biology and molecular medicine at the University of Vienna. Her solid background in biochemistry and molecular biology and a keen interest in applied and translational research prompted her to investigate novel therapies for the treatment of leukemia.

Tobias Suske, PhD
Scientist

Tobias studied biotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, and has been working in the field of leukemia/cancer research since 2015. He studied the role of STAT5 in acute T cell and myeloid leukemias, and the possibilities to develop therapies against these cancers. He has made significant progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms of these cancers and has the potential to identify new therapeutic targets for future treatments.

Angela Rodrigues Viana, PhD
Principal Scientist

Angela is a passionate scientist interested in understanding the fundamental mechanisms of biological processes and their impact on organisms and disease. She completed her Master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Strasbourg in France, working on viral RNAs and regulatory RNAs in epigenetics, before moving to the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) at the Vienna BioCenter for her PhD, where she studied microRNA biogenesis and gene regulation. Angela joined the Riana team to investigate the druggability and disruption of oncogenic transcription factors PPIs.

Christine Ruckenbauer
Co-founder and Chief Business Officer

Christine studied microbiology at the University of Vienna and worked for two years as a PhD student at the Research Institute for Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna in the group of Jan Michael Peters. She joined Vetmeduni Vienna in 2004 to set up the technology transfer department. In 2019, she conceived the “Entrepreneurial Vetmed” program, which has since supported the entrepreneurial development of researchers with a variety of events and information. In 2010, she was additionally appointed Managing Director of VetWIDI Forschungsholding GmbH, a subsidiary of Vetmeduni Vienna, and in this role she accompanied several Vetmeduni spin-offs, such as ViruSure GmbH and Marinomed Biotech AG.  

Dominika Polak, PhD
Research Assistant

Dominika is a dedicated immunology researcher with a PhD from the Medical University of Vienna. She excels in project management, data analysis, and protocol development, making her a valuable asset to RIANA. Dominika thrives in collaborative, multicultural teams and has extensive experience in lab organization, immunology methods, and cell culture work. Her critical and curiosity-driven thinking, problem-solving skills, and adaptability effectively meet the dynamic challenges on RIANA’s journey.

Maša Zrimšek, PhD
Scientist

Maša is a curious and proactive scientist with a PhD in Molecular Cancer Biology and a Master’s degree in Pharmacy. Her expertise spans cancer biology, epigenetics, and targeted therapies, complemented by hands-on experience in basic research and GMP-compliant pharmaceutical manufacturing. At RIANA, she brings a strong foundation in experimental design, molecular techniques, and data interpretation. Maša’s structured approach, scientific rigor, and passion for collaborative problem-solving make her a valuable contributor to RIANA’s innovative and fast-paced environment.

Co-founders

Dr. Richard Moriggl
Co-founder and SAB member

Richard Moriggl is an expert in JAK-STAT biology, whose research contributed to the mechanistic understanding of STAT3/5 signaling in normal and cancer cells. He has been a full Professor at two medical universities in Vienna and, since 2023, heads the Biochemistry and Metabolism Unit at Paris Lodron University, Salzburg. Over the past 21 years, he has been a successful PI, and previously served as Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research.

Dr. Oliver Szolar
Co-founder and advisor

Oliver Szolar is a serial biotech entrepreneur who is currently CEO of a:head bio AG and chairman of the supervisory board of heartbeat.bio AG. He was CEO of Savira pharmaceuticals from 2009 to 2018 and Managing Director of wings4innovation from 2014 to 2017. From 2007-2009, he was CSO at onepharm. He holds a PhD in biotechnology from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna.

VetWIDI Forschungsholding GmbH
Co-founder

VetWIDI Forschungsholding GmbH was founded in June 2004. It is a commercially-orientated company majority-owned by the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (VUW).

In co-operation with the office of technology transfer and research management (FFI), VetWIDI closes the gap between research and business at the VUW. Together VetWIDI and FFI want to stimulate entrepreneurship and provide full service for innovative life scientists at the VUW.