RiboBio Partners with CRO Leader Asymchem to Accelerate Small Nucleic Acid Drug Industrialization

　　【PharmNet Corporate News] Oligonucleotide drugs offer advantages such as precise targeting, significant efficacy, and short development cycles. In recent years, they have become a key focus for global biopharmaceutical giants. Conservative estimates from securities firms suggest that the global market size will far exceed $10 billion by 2025 and will maintain sustained rapid growth over the next two decades.
 

However, given the current situation in China, the domestic small nucleic acid industry started relatively late, with few players in the field. Due to institutional deficiencies, as well as shortages of funding and talent, apart from Spinraza being approved for marketing in China as an orphan drug, no other small nucleic acid drugs have been approved for marketing domestically. The industry believes that small nucleic acid drugs hold immense potential, and the next 10 to 20 years may represent a golden period for the development of the small nucleic acid industry, potentially becoming the third wave of modern innovative drugs following small-molecule drugs and antibody drugs.
 

Recent reports indicate that Asymchem, Ribo Life Science, and the Administrative Committee of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area have recently signed an investment cooperation agreement. Under the agreement, Ribo Life Science will partner with the Tianjin Haihe Asymchem Biopharmaceutical Industry Innovation Investment Fund to jointly invest in nucleic acid drugs.Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API)Capacity Building Project: Investment in the construction of a kilogram-scale commercial production base for small nucleic acid active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the West Zone of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area.
 

Ribo Life Science is an innovative drug development company dedicated to the development of oligonucleotide therapeutics, with kilogram-scale annual production and analytical capabilities for GalNAc-conjugated oligonucleotide active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The company currently has a pipeline of investigational products comprising multiple oligonucleotide drugs targeting indications such as hyperglycemia, prostate cancer, optic nerve injury, hepatitis B, and hyperlipidemia, along with an oligonucleotide drug delivery technology platform (including GalNAc delivery technology).
 

Currently, the Company has four products in the clinical study and investigational new drug (IND) application stages, and more than ten products in the preclinical or early discovery stages. Among these, RB1016, the Company’s first independently developed small nucleic acid drug for hepatitis B treatment, is in Phase II/III clinical studies; this product is indicated for the treatment of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). SR062, indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is in Phase II clinical studies. SR063, indicated for the treatment of AR-V7-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), is in Phase IIa clinical studies. SR016, indicated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, is at the IND application stage.
 

On December 29, 2020, Ribo Life Science officially disclosed its prospectus for listing on the STAR Market, potentially becoming the first publicly traded company in China specializing in oligonucleotide therapeutics. Ribo Life Science has also garnered significant favor from investors; statistics show that since 2015, the company has cumulatively completed over RMB 1 billion in financing.
 

ASYMCHEM, a leading CRO in China, has deeply cultivated the global CDMO sector for innovative drugs. With over two decades of accumulated experience, the company has evolved into a world-class, one-stop comprehensive CDMO service provider dedicated to new drug research and development and production. Its clientele includes global pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer and Merck & Co., as well as renowned domestic and international biopharmaceutical companies like Zai Lab and Betta Pharmaceuticals. ASYMCHEM has gradually established an integrated service ecosystem for innovative drugs.
 

It is reported that, through this collaboration, ASYMCHEM will leverage its strengths in drug research and development and manufacturing to provide comprehensive services encompassing design, construction, management, and operation, thereby accelerating the industrialization of small nucleic acid drugs and further expediting the market launch of new drugs as well as the growth of pharmaceutical R&D enterprises.