City Therapeutics Raises $200 Million IPO to Fund RNAi Drugs Beyond the Liver

City Therapeutics, a Cambridge‑based biotech, raised $200 million in an IPO that sold 11.1 million shares at $18 each. The company priced the shares at the midpoint of its target range, and the proceeds will fund clinical development of its top program, CITY‑FXI, and other RNA interference drugs. Trading began on the Nasdaq on Friday under the ticker symbol CTY.

Pipeline Focus and Targets

RNA interference, or RNAi, uses small interfering RNA molecules to silence disease‑causing genes. City is one of several startups expanding RNAi beyond liver‑targeted therapies, aiming to reach tissues such as blood, eye and brain. Its most advanced candidate, CITY‑FXI, targets the clotting protein Factor XI to reduce thromboembolic risk while lowering bleeding risk compared with current anticoagulants. The company also plans early‑stage trials for a Stargardt disease drug, CITY‑RBP4, and a treatment for anemia of chronic disease, both of which target non‑liver proteins.

City’s IPO follows about $239 million raised in venture rounds, with major investors like Arch Venture Partners and Fidelity. The company expects the new cash to sustain operations into late 2028 and will allocate roughly $30 million to its Phase 1 trial of CITY‑FXI and a Phase 2 study in knee‑replacement patients. It also budgets $20 million for CITY‑RBP4’s first human trial and $40 million for a China‑based anemia study. Partnerships with Bausch + Lomb and Biogen support eye and central nervous system programs, and the company is pursuing synthetic RNA formats that may outperform conventional RNAi.