Ohio State startup City Therapeutics announces $200 million initial public offering

City Therapeutics, a biotechnology company co-founded by Kotaro Nakanishi, a professor at The Ohio State University, announced the pricing of its $200 million initial public offering. 

“City Therapeutics is a powerful example of how research discoveries at Ohio State can translate into meaningful commercial opportunities,” said Sanjay Krishna, senior associate vice president for innovation and strategic ventures. “This milestone reflects the potential of our faculty’s research to drive innovation and develop solutions that improve lives.” 

Nakanishi, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, co-founded the company in 2023 based on research conducted at Ohio State. 

City Therapeutics develops experimental medicines using RNA interference (RNAi), a process that can silence genes responsible for producing proteins associated with disease. Its technology is designed to target specific genes and deliver treatments to affected tissues. The company is developing potential therapies for blood clotting disorders, inherited vision loss, and anemia associated with chronic diseases. 

In 2025, City Therapeutics announced a research collaboration with Biogen valued at up to $1 billion to advance next-generation RNA interference therapies. The agreement included $46 million in upfront and equity funding, with the potential for additional payments tied to research and development milestones.