We help multiQure position the technology, identify the right partners in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, and initiate targeted conversations, says Frans Trouwen, CEO of Liberi Group
After raising PLN 50 million to develop its RNAi platform, Polish company multiQure moves into the commercialization stage. Even before starting clinical trials, the company began working with a renowned foreign advisor who will help it prepare key data and hold talks with potential partners. Frans Trouwen, CEO of Liberi Group, told us about the details of this cooperation and the potential of the projects being developed by multiQure.
In this interview you will learn:
- the reasons behind Liberi Group's partnership with multiQure,
- what sets the Polish company's project apart and its potential in treating Huntington's disease,
- when a transaction window for commercializing the project might open,
- Liberi Group's plans for the Polish market.
Jesteśmy na czele peletonu poszukującego leku na sarkoidozę i inne choroby zapalne i włóknieniowe – mówi CEO Molecure, Marcin Szumowski
Paweł Biedrzycki: Why did Liberi decide to partner with multiQure?
Frans Trouwen: We were drawn to a scientifically well-differentiated program with a clear combination of biology and development strategy. multiQure isn't simply working in Huntington's disease, it's combining mutant-allele selectivity, direct CAG-repeat targeting, and long-term RNAi expression from a single administration. That combination is relatively rare in the field.
We also think the timing works well for our role. The program is approaching the clinic but is still early enough that partner input on clinical design, biomarkers, and regulatory strategy can genuinely shape the path forward. That's exactly the point where Liberi's network and partnering experience can add value.
What are the terms of the partnership?
I can't go into commercial terms, those are confidential. What I can say is that the engagement is focused on strategic business development. Liberi is helping multiQure position the technology, identify the right pharmaceutical and biotech counterparties, and initiate targeted discussions, rather than a generic outreach campaign.
multiQure is well-financed and not under pressure, so they're looking for the partner best positioned to get this to patients successfully, not simply the highest bidder. Once there's genuine interest from a counterparty, the process moves into confidentiality agreements, direct scientific engagement between the teams, and due diligence.
So what is the ideal plan for commercializing multiQure's technology?
The approach is to keep multiple paths open rather than commit early to one commercial model. The immediate priority is generating clinical evidence in Huntington's disease, in parallel with a Hospital Exemption pathway in Poland and preparation for an FDA pre-IND meeting. multiQure has said they're funded to run the trial themselves if needed, so this isn't a company racing against a cash clock. At the same time, they're building relationships with pharmaceutical companies that could partner around the lead program or the broader platform.
Liberi Group public deals
What makes this interesting beyond the single asset is that the underlying CAG-repeat biology is shared across several other polyglutamine diseases. So progress on the lead program has the potential to inform a broader development strategy.
What will be key to the further growth of this project's value?
Scientifically, the key milestone is translation, showing that what's been observed preclinically holds up in humans. The preclinical package so far includes preferential silencing of mutant huntingtin, dose-dependent effects, reduced protein aggregation, and persistence out to 28 weeks in animal models. The newer molecule was specifically engineered to improve efficiency and reduce theoretical off-target risk. The next step isn't to argue the science is interesting, it's to generate clinical data that confirms what's been seen preclinically.
How does the Polish company's project compare to the competition?
multiQure positions its program around four features relative to peers: allele selectivity, since normal huntingtin has physiological roles worth preserving; direct CAG-repeat targeting, which the company argues could address a broader patient population than SNP-restricted approaches; long-term expression from a single AAV administration, rather than repeat dosing; and a regulatory strategy that deliberately follows the path already tested by uniQure's program rather than establishing a novel one.
So what is its commercialization potential?
What's objectively true: Huntington's disease has no approved disease-modifying therapy, existing treatments only manage symptoms, so the unmet need is real, and this would qualify for orphan drug status in both the US and Europe. The broader modality, single-administration, allele-selective gene silencing, has also drawn significant industry and capital interest elsewhere in the field, based on other companies' clinical results.
When might the transaction window open?
I'd say the partnering conversation is already open, even if a transaction isn't imminent. Liberi is already reaching out to potential strategic partners, deliberately at this earlier stage, because that's when partner input on trial design and regulatory strategy can still have an effect.
Whether that develops into a licensing deal, an asset partnership, or a broader platform collaboration depends on the data and on strategic fit with individual companies. multiQure has told us directly they're open to discussions now. I can't put a date on when anything concludes, but the program has reached the stage where those conversations can meaningfully start.
multiQure's share price on the WSE
What trends currently dominate the biotech market, and what determines success?
There's renewed interest in differentiated genetic medicine platforms, particularly RNA-based and gene-silencing approaches for CNS disease. But both investors and pharma partners have become more selective, they're looking for a credible mechanistic story with a real path from preclinical biology to clinical proof, not just an interesting molecule.
Across the sector, the factors that tend to separate successful programs are clean safety and off-target profiles, a de-risked regulatory pathway, a defensible IP position, and, ultimately, clinical validation.
Biofund i ACRX nawiązały porozumienie ws. rozwoju projektu multiQure w ramach spółki Pure Biologics
Are you planning to partner with other Polish companies as well, and what interests you?
There's already a strong Polish dimension to this program: the core IP originates from a licensing agreement with the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznań, and the planned Hospital Exemption trial will use the same Warsaw clinical site and principal investigator involved in uniQure's earlier study. Several members of multiQure's scientific team are also based in Poland.
Beyond those existing relationships, whether multiQure or Liberi plan to bring in further Polish corporate partners wasn't something we discussed in detail. What I can say is that multiQure has told us they're open to partners broadly, with no restriction on geography or type, so any collaboration would need to be genuinely complementary, in areas like RNA biology, delivery, manufacturing, or clinical development, rather than collaboration for its own sake.
What is the biggest mistake biotech companies make in the commercialization process?
I would say it's waiting too long to start talking to partners. A lot of companies think about commercialization only once they already have clinical results, rather than starting the conversation earlier, while the program can still be shaped. Partners often bring perspective a company doesn't have on its own, on things like how to design a trial or which regulatory route makes sense, and that input is far more useful early than after the key decisions are already locked in.
The related issue is not being clear about what kind of partner or deal they actually want before starting those conversations. Without that clarity, it's harder for a potential partner to know how to engage, and things tend to stall.
None of this guarantees an outcome, how the industry or regulators respond is never fully in anyone's control. But starting early and knowing what you're looking for are within a company's control, and they usually make the difference between a smooth process and a rushed one.
