Innovation for a Purpose
"When you can not breathe, nothing else matters"
- American Lung Association
Developing innovative best-in-class therapies to help patients with obstructive airway diseases breathe easily.
CILA Therapeutics' proprietary, transformational, gene-agnostic, platform, CIL-KeyTM , is designed to enable the development of breakthrough inhaled RNA therapeutics and vaccines
for pulmonary diseases
Persistent Airway Plugs: A Call for Clinical Recognition and Novel Therapies
At CILA, we are working to create a future where patients with obstructive airway diseases have access to an effective therapy to improve and maintain normal airway function, protect the integrity of the lung and prevent ongoing and long-term lung damage.
Currently, there are no effective therapies for the treatment of mucus plugs that make breathing difficult and prevent other inhaled therapies from reaching their target and being effective. CILA is committed to developing therapies to clear mucus obstruction.
News
CILA Therapeutics awarded NCATS grant to advance a transformational platform that significantly enhances inhaled delivery of RNA-LNP into lung cells
CILA’s proprietary, gene-agnostic platform, CIL-Key™, is designed to enable the development of breakthrough inhaled RNA therapeutics and vaccines for pulmonary diseases — potentially unlocking new partnerships and pipeline expansion opportunities
BOSTON— Aug. 11, 2025 — CILA Therapeutics has been awarded a competitive grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to advance the development of its proprietary CIL-Key™ platform — a novel, gene-agnostic delivery technology that significantly and reproducibly enhances the transfection efficiency and delivery of inhaled RNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles (RNA-LNPs) into lung epithelial cells.
In preclinical studies, the CIL-Key™ platform (also referred to as CIL-0X in the grant) achieved up to a 430% increase in delivery of functionally intact RNA into human bronchial epithelial cells cultured at an air-liquid interface (ALI), demonstrating utility across multiple RNA-LNP formulations.
“This milestone provides strong validation of CILA’s scientific approach and vision to deliver practical, scalable and patient-centric solutions for some of the most formidable challenges in pulmonary medicine,” said Safia Rizvi, CEO of CILA Therapeutics.
CIL-Key™ is designed to enable efficient, localized intracellular delivery of RNA-based modalities while minimizing systemic exposure. The platform could offer significant advantages for companies developing inhaled RNA therapies and vaccines for a broad range of lung diseases, including Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD), Cystic Fibrosis(CF), COPD and Pulmonary Fibrosis, as well as respiratory infections including influenza, RSV and COVID-19.
Chronic pulmonary diseases affect more than 34 million people in the U.S. and more than 545 million globally. These often progressive, life-limiting conditions have a significant impact on quality of life and a high economic burden, creating an urgent demand for novel, effective and easy-to-administer treatments like those powered by CIL-Key™.
CILA is actively seeking strategic partnerships to expand the platform’s application across diverse RNA-based pipelines for rare and common pulmonary indications.
Media Contact:
Kelly DeAngelis
Pilcrow Group
Kelly@PilcrowGroup.com
BOSTON— Aug. 11, 2025 — CILA Therapeutics has been awarded a competitive grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to advance the development of its proprietary CIL-Key™ platform — a novel, gene-agnostic delivery technology that significantly and reproducibly enhances the transfection efficiency and delivery of inhaled RNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles (RNA-LNPs) into lung epithelial cells.
In preclinical studies, the CIL-Key™ platform (also referred to as CIL-0X in the grant) achieved up to a 430% increase in delivery of functionally intact RNA into human bronchial epithelial cells cultured at an air-liquid interface (ALI), demonstrating utility across multiple RNA-LNP formulations.
“This milestone provides strong validation of CILA’s scientific approach and vision to deliver practical, scalable and patient-centric solutions for some of the most formidable challenges in pulmonary medicine,” said Safia Rizvi, CEO of CILA Therapeutics.
CIL-Key™ is designed to enable efficient, localized intracellular delivery of RNA-based modalities while minimizing systemic exposure. The platform could offer significant advantages for companies developing inhaled RNA therapies and vaccines for a broad range of lung diseases, including Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD), Cystic Fibrosis(CF), COPD and Pulmonary Fibrosis, as well as respiratory infections including influenza, RSV and COVID-19.
Chronic pulmonary diseases affect more than 34 million people in the U.S. and more than 545 million globally. These often progressive, life-limiting conditions have a significant impact on quality of life and a high economic burden, creating an urgent demand for novel, effective and easy-to-administer treatments like those powered by CIL-Key™.
CILA is actively seeking strategic partnerships to expand the platform’s application across diverse RNA-based pipelines for rare and common pulmonary indications.
Media Contact:
Kelly DeAngelis
Pilcrow Group
Kelly@PilcrowGroup.com
CILA Therapeutics CEO Safia Rizvi has been named to the prestigious 2024 50 Women to Watch for Boards list
BOSTON June 28, 2024 — CILA Therapeutics CEO Safia Rizvi has been named to the prestigious 2024 50 Women to Watch for Corporate Boards list, by 50/50 Women on Boards. Rizvi is a visionary biopharmaceutical business executive and scientist, who has dedicated her career to discovering and commercializing treatments that improve people’s lives across the globe. Rizvi and the other finalists are recognized as board-ready executives, who can make an immediate positive impact.
CILA CEO selected as 2023 Termeer Foundation Fellow
BOSTON, April 10, 2023 — The Termeer Foundation is proud to announce the Class of 2023 Termeer Fellows. The Class of 2023 include Safia Rizvi, CILA Therapeutics; and 19 other outstanding entrepreneurs.
CILA to present at Align Summit
CILA Therapeutics was selected to present at the @MassBio Align Summit w/ insights by @McKinsey. The day will include keynotes, panel discussions, and pitches from other innovative seed/series A Biotech and MedTech start-ups.
Collaborators
