Ractigen Therapeutics Completes Nearly RMB 200 Million Series A+ Financing to Accelerate Global Expansion

Following the completion of a 120 million yuan Series A financing round in February 2021, Ractigen Therapeutics, a global innovator in small nucleic acid drug development, has announced more good news today, completing a nearly 200 million yuan Series A+ round. This round was led by SDIC Venture Capital, with investments from Japan's Eisai, Leading Venture Partners, Sino-Singapore Capital, and Xianghe Chengdao. The funds will primarily be used to advance several preclinical projects into clinical stages, expand nucleic acid production capacity, and accelerate internationalization.

Ractigen was founded in 2017 in Nantong, Jiangsu by Dr. Li Longcheng, the discoverer of RNA activation (RNAa) technology. The founding team includes Dr. Robert Place and Dr. Moorim Kang from the original RNAa discovery team. Their seamless collaboration over a decade has contributed to the rapid early development of Ractigen.

Since its establishment in 2017, Ractigen has actively advanced more than ten small activating RNA (saRNA) drug development pipelines in just over four years. The pipeline indications cover multiple fields such as genetic diseases, oncology, liver targets, central nervous system, and ophthalmic diseases. Currently, four pipelines are in the preclinical development stage. Meanwhile, the company has built two key technology platforms with independent intellectual property rights, "Smart-TTC" and "SCAD."

After completing the Series A financing in 2021, Ractigen demonstrated an impressive growth rate. In terms of pipeline progress, one project was rapidly advanced into the IND-enabling development stage; regarding intellectual property, multiple patents related to saRNA and delivery systems were filed, further enhancing the intellectual property system; concerning team building, the company continued to recruit talents, attracting industry elites such as Chief Strategy Officer Dr. Wenkai Xie and Vice President of Translational Development Dr. Enhong Zhong, with the current team size nearing 50 people.

In today's booming innovative drug development, nucleic acid drugs are considered to bring "the third wave of pharmaceuticals beyond small molecule drugs and antibody drugs." As a crucial member of the nucleic acid drug field, saRNA drugs are an indispensable treatment for diseases caused by protein deficiency. By targeting gene promoters and activating endogenous gene expression, saRNA can achieve the goal of increasing target protein levels and restoring their function.

Dr. Longcheng Li, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Ractigen, stated: "Our vision is to equip every gene with a key to unlock expression for the purpose of treating diseases, addressing significant unmet clinical needs and benefiting a wide range of patients. In the short time since our Series A financing, Ractigen has once again gained the favor of renowned investment institutions and multinational pharmaceutical companies, demonstrating that the capital market and the industry fully recognize innovative source technologies and are optimistic about the broad prospects of nucleic acid drugs. With a highly differentiated platform technology, a rich product pipeline, and a dedicated original team, we not only look forward to more groundbreaking achievements but also anticipate more international-minded development talents to join Ractigen, setting forth on a promising journey together!"

SDIC Venture Capital stated that RNAa is a very rare platform technology in the pharmaceutical field, with broad application prospects in drug development. Ractigen Therapeutics, based in China and oriented globally, has made rapid progress in the fields of rare diseases, oncology, liver-targeted metabolic and hematological diseases, relying on its unique innovative R&D capabilities and proprietary platform technology with independent intellectual property rights. The company also values and maintains close ties with large domestic and international pharmaceutical enterprises, gaining cooperation recognition from several leading companies in the industry. We continue to have high expectations for Ractigen’s enormous potential and hope that the team will achieve further breakthroughs in the field of small nucleic acid drugs, enhancing SDIC Venture Capital's important layout in building a biopharmaceutical ecosystem. SDIC Venture Capital will support Ractigen's further growth and development in various aspects such as industry resources, business complementarity within the ecosystem, and financial support, to accelerate the rapid transformation of innovative drug scientific and technological achievements in China.

VCBeat stated that VCBeat has long been paying attention to the frontier progress of nucleic acid drugs as an emerging therapeutic approach. As the discoverer of RNAa technology, the founder of the company possesses the most advanced R&D capabilities in this field. Meanwhile, with a highly capable core team, unique delivery system technology, and a comprehensive patent system, the company has become a technology platform with international market competitiveness. We have great confidence in the company’s R&D achievements in major disease areas such as genetic disorders and solid tumors, and we look forward to deepening our cooperation with the company, fully supporting the development of its innovative pipeline. We hope to address more unmet patient needs.

SDIC Venture Capital was established in 2016 as a privately managed equity investment fund management company specifically set up by the State Development & Investment Corporation (SDIC) to implement the national innovation-driven development strategy, deepen its comprehensive strategic cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology, and accelerate the transfer and transformation of national scientific and technological achievements in a market-oriented manner. Through platforms such as the National Science and Technology Major Project Achievement Transformation Fund, SDIC Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Fund, SDIC High-Tech (Shenzhen) Venture Capital Fund, SDIC (Ningbo) Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Fund, and SDIC (Guangdong) Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Fund, SDIC Venture Capital consistently focuses on the investment goal of transforming scientific and technological achievements. It concentrates on key areas such as advanced manufacturing, electronic information, biomedicine, materials, and energy, while aligning with China’s regional development strategies like the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The firm continuously drives independent innovation in core technologies, achieving ongoing breakthroughs and building a robust ecosystem for investing in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

Eisai is a global leading research and development pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, with approximately 10,000 employees worldwide. Eisai defines its corporate mission as "placing the interests of patients and their families first and contributing to the enhancement of their well-being," a mission the company refers to as the human health care (hhc) philosophy. Eisai is committed to delivering innovative products in therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, such as oncology and neurology, striving to practice the company’s hhc philosophy. In the spirit of hhc, Eisai will further fulfill this commitment by leveraging its scientific expertise, clinical capabilities, and understanding of patients to discover and develop innovative solutions that help address society's most challenging unmet needs, including neglected tropical diseases, and contribute to the sustainable development goals.

Leading Venture Capital is a professional fund focused on the investment in the innovative pharmaceuticals industry. Its core team consists of founders of listed medical companies, as well as professionals in finance and strategic investments, possessing extensive experience in corporate operations management, investment, and mergers and acquisitions. Leading Venture Capital has an in-depth understanding of the medical industry, and is committed to identifying innovative drugs with investment potential, discovering, investing in, and serving dark horses in China's innovative pharmaceuticals sector to deliver excellent returns for investors.

CSC Group adheres to the development philosophy of "industry as the core, innovation-driven" and has formed a professional team with both technological background and industrial development experience. It builds diversified investment tools and deeply integrates the industry chain, innovation chain, investment chain, and service chain. It has cumulatively invested in multiple science and technology innovation enterprises, covering fields such as life sciences, information technology, and electronic manufacturing. CSC Park Creation Phase I Fund is a technology venture capital fund based in Suzhou, radiating to the China-Singapore International Business Cooperation Center (offshore). Focusing on the region's leading and advantageous industries, it closely aligns with empowering the industrialization and internationalization of "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" enterprises and actively engages in venture capital activities.

Xianghe Chengdao is a partnership established by professional managers and senior scientists in China's biopharmaceutical industry, possessing the most top-tier expert advisory network in the field. It focuses on investing in cutting-edge technologies and products in healthcare, aiming to incubate potentially groundbreaking frontier health technologies and cultivate industry benchmark companies.