Harness Therapeutics has nominated HRN001 as a first in class drug candidate for Huntington’s disease and established a clinical advisory board to support its development, according to the company.
HRN001 is designed to target FAN1, a DNA repair protein linked through genetic research to delayed onset and slower progression of Huntington’s disease. The company claims the therapy uses a protein upregulation approach intended to address the underlying disease mechanism rather than treating symptoms alone.
According to Harness Therapeutics, HRN001 aims to control somatic DNA repeat expansion associated with disease progression. The candidate is being advanced through preclinical development with the goal of moving toward clinical testing.
The newly formed clinical advisory board includes specialists in neurodegenerative diseases and Huntington’s disease research who will guide clinical strategy and development planning, the company said. The board is intended to support trial design and future regulatory steps as the program progresses.
Harness Therapeutics stated that the nomination of HRN001 marks a key milestone in its neurodegeneration pipeline, which focuses on therapies that increase levels of protective proteins using proprietary RNA-based technologies.
The company claims its broader platform is designed to unlock targets not accessible through traditional drug development approaches and could be applied to additional neurodegenerative disorders beyond Huntington’s disease.
