Bayer has entered a strategic collaboration and global licensing agreement with Soufflé Therapeutics to develop a heart-targeted siRNA therapy for a rare form of dilated cardiomyopathy.
This deal marks Bayer’s deeper move into precision cardiology and its first major step into cell-selective siRNA medicines.
Dilated cardiomyopathy affects heart muscle function and can lead to heart failure.
For certain rare genetic subtypes, treatment options remain limited.
siRNA offers a way to:
The challenge has always been precise delivery to the right cells.
Soufflé Therapeutics focuses on one hard problem: getting RNA medicines into the right cells, and only those cells.
Its platform combines:
In this collaboration, the goal is direct delivery to heart muscle cells, minimizing off-target effects.
Bayer contributes deep expertise in:
The program also expands Bayer’s relationship with Soufflé beyond its earlier investment via Leaps by Bayer.
Bayer sees siRNA as a new growth lever in cardiology.
Soufflé sees this as platform validation.
Bayer R&D highlights patient impact.
This deal signals three clear trends:
Financial terms were not disclosed, but strategically, this positions Bayer early in next-generation RNA cardiology therapies.
Bayer isn’t just adding another asset. It’s betting on cell-selective siRNA as a future pillar of heart disease treatment.
If delivery works as promised, this approach could reshape how rare cardiomyopathies are treated, and open the heart to RNA medicine at scale.