Pretzel Therapeutics Acquires Rome Therapeutics, Gaining Full Control of Its Dark Genome Platform and Early-Stage Pipeline

Jan 15, 2026 12:03 CST Updated 12:03

Pretzel Therapeutics

Biotechnology Developer

ROME Therapeutics

Developer of Cancer and Autoimmune Disease Therapies

Johnson & Johnson

Medical Device R&D and Manufacturer

Recently,Pretzel Therapeutics Announces Completion ofRomeThe acquisition of Therapeutics company,After the acquisition is completed,RomeWill serve asPretzelWholly-owned subsidiary operation.

However, the acquisitionTerms of the deal were not disclosed。

Sibling Companies

ROME Therapeutics andPretzel Therapeutics has a deep origin, although each focuses on different technical fields and has not been disclosed before.Any project-levelCooperation, but the two companies have obvious intersections at the "executive" and "investment" levels.

RomeYesPretzelFounding Team's former employer,PretzelTheCEO and Co-Founder Jay ParrishWasOne of the co-founders of ROME Therapeutics，ItsChief Operating Officer Baruch HarrisAlsoZeng担Senior Vice President of Business Development and Operations at ROME Therapeutics。

Two CompaniesAlso hasCo-investor，ARCH Venture Partners are bothItsGV (formerly Google Ventures), the lead investor in Series A, also invested in ROME Therapeutics and Pretzel Therapeutics successively.。

It is also precisely because of the executives of the two companiesHighly overlapping with investors, so the entire transaction negotiation proceeded relatively smoothly.

Dark genome

Rome TherapeuticsFounded in April 2020,Incubated by Google Ventures (GV),is a company focused onDark Genome（Dark Genome）AspectResearchTheCompany.

Dark genome refers to the DNA in the human genome that does not directly encode proteins, including virus-like repetitive elements and non-coding sequences, accounting for approximately 98% of the human genome. CompanyThe goal is to aim to clarifyDark GenomeRole in Human Health and Disease, DevelopmentTargeting cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseasesNew Therapy.

The company's R&D direction alsoAttracted investments from several large pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Sanofi. Since its establishment,RomePublicCompleted three rounds of financing,Raised approximately $199 million in cumulative financing, with Google Ventures and ARCH participating in three rounds of investment.

But because this field is very cutting-edge,RomeThe overall pipeline progress is still very slow.Until the company was acquired, it had not entered the clinical pipeline. And after 2023, the company never...Without obtaining investment, the cash flow also gradually tightened.

In September 2025, ROME TherapeuticsAnnounced layoffs,Shut down the company entity and shifted to virtual operations，At the same time, also inSeeking Strategic Alternatives (Including overall sale or merger), extending the company's cash runway.

In terms of pipelines, the company currently has 2 announced, with the fastest pipeline beingRPT-2950, aLINE-1 Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor，Developed for the treatment ofAutoimmune Disease (Such as lupus, psoriasis, etc.).

Note:LINE-1YesIn the Dark GenomeA repetitive element, under pathological or cellular stress conditions,LINE-1 shifts from a suppressed state to a derepressed state, triggering a series of pathological responses such as viral mimicry, tumor antigens, and genomic instability, ultimately contributing to the development and progression of various diseases.

ByAfter the acquisition,RomeThe "Dark Genome TechniqueAndFull Early PipelineMerge intoPretzel 。

Reference Source

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/pretzel-winner-rise-and-fall-rome-therapeutics

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/big-pharma-backed-rome-therapeutics-nears-end-road-planned-layoffs-and-strategic-review

https://www.pretzeltx.com/about-us/