The best in mRNA Therapeutics
Jantomarna Therapeutics was founded in 2025, building on the founders' decades-long track record in RNA Biology.
We believe in the exceptional promise mRNA Therapeutics hold for the treatment of rare diseases, infections, cancers, and in other areas of unmet medical need.
The full promise of mRNA Therapeutics is technically challenging to access, and unlocking it requires controlling the many parameters that shape the physical and functional features of mRNAs.
Our mission is to deliver mRNA sequences that function optimally for their intended applications, delivering efficacy, safety and manufacturability without the need for extended design-and-test cycles.
Meet the founders.
Anne Willis OBE, Founder and Director of Jantomarna Therapeutics. Anne is Professor of Toxicology at the University of Cambridge and currently serves as Director of the MRC Toxicology Unit at Cambridge.
Mark Smales, Founder and Director of Jantomarna Therapeutics. Mark is Professor of Biotechnology at the University of Kent, UK and Principal Investigator of the Advanced Biotherapies and Cell Factories Group at the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research & Training (NIBRT), Dublin, Ireland. He currently serves as Director of the Centre for Advanced Diagnostics Development and Application (CADDA) at Kent.
James Thaventhiran MD, Founder and Director of Jantomarna Therapeutics. James is Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Cambridge and Clinical Consultant at Addenbrooks Hospital.
Tobias von der Haar, Founder and Director of Jantomarna Therapeutics. Tobias is Professor of Systems Biology at the University of Kent and currently serves as CEO of Jantomarna Therapeutics.
Our research track record.
The founders have worked in RNA Biology, Biotechnology and Immunology for more than 20 years, often combining their and others' expertise in collaborative work.
Some recent academic papers demonstrating our track record are shown here.
Hedayioglu F, Hargreaves EJ, Kurusamy S, Thaventhiran JED, Willis AE, Smales CM, and von der Haar T (2025) Near-cognate tRNAs dominate codon decoding times in simulated ribosomes. Nucleic Acids Research, 53: gkaf1164. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkaf1164.
Mulroney TE, Pöyry T, Yam-Puc JC, Rust M, Harvey RF, Kalmar L, Horner E, Booth L, Ferreira AP, Stoneley M, Sawarkar R, Mentzer AJ, Lilley KS, Smales CM, von der Haar T, Turtle L, Dunachie S, Klenerman P, Thaventhiran JED, Willis AE (2024) N1-methylpseudouridylation of mRNA causes +1 ribosomal frameshifting. Nature. 625: 189-194. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06800-3.
von der Haar T, Mulroney TE, Hedayioglu F, Kurusamy S, Rust M, Lilley KS, Thaventhiran JE, Willis AE, Smales CM (2023) Translation of in vitro-transcribed RNA therapeutics. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences 10: 1128067. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1128067.