UAlbany Spinoff Secures New Funding in Bid to Transform Biotechnology
By Erin Frick
ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 6, 2025) — University at Albany’s Professor Scott Tenenbaum, CEO of UAlbany spinoff company sxRNA Technologies, Inc., believes in pursuing strategic science designed for impact. Now, thanks to ongoing collaborations with UAlbany’s Office of Economic Development, Entrepreneurship, and Industry Partnerships and a string of funding success that brought in over $625,000 in new awards to the company in 2025, Tenenbaum’s pioneering RNA technology is positioned to optimize medical research, improve drug production and enable the development of new precision therapeutics.
“Our platform technology is highly adaptable and could be applied to many different uses across the field of biotechnology,” said Tenenbaum, professor of nanoscale science and engineering at UAlbany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering and the RNA Institute. “As we advance our three product lines, with other new lines in development, we’re doing so with an intentional eye on market needs. We want to ensure that we’re pursuing solutions to real challenges that those working in biotech — from industry to academia — are grappling with now.”
— Video filmed and produced by Zach Durocher.
Tiny Switches to Answer Big Questions
From the beginning, Tenenbaum's research has been driven by the fundamental question: “How does the human genome work? How we are able to do what we do with nucleic acids, the building blocks of DNA, in a way that no other living organism on the planet can?”
The secret could lie within RNA — the messenger molecule that regulates cellular functioning in all living organisms.
Biomanufacturing
The second product line tackles inefficiencies in pharmaceutical production. Over 50% of modern drugs are made through biomanufacturing — using living cells to produce complex proteins too difficult to synthesize chemically. The process currently requires months-long cloning procedures and produces limited yields.
The sxRNA platform can reduce cloning time from months to less than two weeks while selecting for “super-producer” cells that generate higher protein yields. “A 5% increase in production translates to millions of dollars for a pharmaceutical manufacturer,” Tenenbaum said. “If we can help bump up yield, even by this seemingly modest margin, that's a lot of money.”
Precision Therapeutics
The most ambitious product line could revolutionize the way we treat disease. Unlike some mRNA therapies (and other conventional drugs) that circulate in the body and can cause off-target side effects, sxRNA can be engineered to activate only in specific cell types.
“The precision of our technology could enable groundbreaking therapeutics,” Tenenbaum said. “Imagine solving major medical challenges, like killing cancer cells without causing systemic harm. We could program our RNAs to target senescent cells associated with Alzheimer's disease. We could create better vaccines with fewer side effects. We could advance gene therapy for genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis — all while leaving healthy tissue untouched.”
Bench to Bedside
Tenenbaum's commitment to translating lab research into real-world impact started when he was a graduate student at Tulane University, where he was first exposed to a startup-centered research ecosystem.
“The popularity of the bench-to-market pipeline came about in 1980 thanks to the Bayh-Dole Act, which mandates that taxpayer-funded research should benefit society,” Tenenbaum said. “Because public funds support public university research, it is our duty to ensure that our work serves the people who make it possible.”
This philosophy drives the company's approach. “It's not just about asking neat questions; everything we are working to advance are things that can help people,” Tenenbaum said. “As we move toward larger funding rounds and pursuing new partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies, our ultimate goal remains the same: developing technologies to improve human health, and someday, save lives.”