Rgenta Therapeutics Secures $52 Million Series A Financing to Advance Its RNA-Targeted Small Molecule Drug Discovery Platform and Pipeline Development

VCBeat has learned at the earliest opportunity that,Rgenta Therapeutics (hereinafter referred to as “Rgenta”）Announcement of Completion$52 millionofSeries AFinancing. This round of financing was led byAstraZeneca CICC Healthcare Industry FundLead Investor,KIP Capital, Delos CapitalandExisting InvestorsContinued follow-on investment. Rgenta secured seed funding in 2020, with key investors including BI Venture Fund (BIVF), Matrix Partners China, Lilly Asia Ventures, Vivo Capital, Cathay Capital, and Legend Star, among other prominent institutional investors.

Small-molecule drug development typically targets proteins, yet more than 70% of known disease-associated proteins are undruggable with current approaches. Exploring RNA targets can significantly expand the druggable target space. By precisely modulating RNA targets, it is possible to regulate protein expression at the upstream level, intervene in traditionally undruggable targets, and thereby control disease progression.

Due to the structural characteristics of RNA and the complexity of its regulatory mechanisms, the development of small molecules targeting RNA presents significant challenges. Focusing on traditionally undruggable targets, Rgenta is dedicated to developing innovative small-molecule drugs that target RNA. Its integrated discovery platform analyzes extensive human genomics data to identify regulatory sites within RNA amenable to selective modulation by small molecules, enabling rapid screening of RNA-targeting small-molecule candidates to modulate protein expression or alter protein function.

Rgenta boasts a senior and complementary founding team. Dr. Hua Lin Xi, Chief Executive Officer, has nearly 20 years of R&D management experience in computational biology and genomics at major international pharmaceutical companies, covering the entire spectrum of preclinical drug development from target validation to drug discovery. Dr. Travis Wager, Chief Scientific Officer, possesses extensive experience in small-molecule drug development and has successfully advanced eight candidate drugs into clinical trials. Co-founder Professor Zhiping Weng of the University of Massachusetts Medical School has achieved outstanding scientific results in the fields of computational biology, genomics, and RNA regulation.

Currently, Rgenta is developing multiple drug candidates for oncology and neurological indications and has established collaborations with several multinational pharmaceutical companies. The company plans to leverage the new $52 million in financing from this round to strengthen its target discovery and drug screening platform capabilities, and to advance the development of a pipeline of small-molecule drugs targeting RNA for various disease indications.

Rgenta Co-Founder and CEO Hua Lin Xi“We are thrilled to have successfully completed this round of financing despite the challenging fundraising environment. The participation of the AstraZeneca CICC Healthcare Industry Fund and new investors has further solidified Rgenta’s strong investment foundation. We will leverage the proceeds from this round to further strengthen our R&D pipeline, with plans to advance our current early-stage research achievements into clinical development within two years. Rgenta remains committed to prioritizing patient benefits and continuously exploring novel approaches for developing targeted RNA therapeutics.”

Chen Bing, Managing Director of the AstraZeneca CICC Healthcare Industry Fund, and Vice President of AstraZeneca China, Head of Strategic Collaboration and Business Development“Rgenta’s unique small-molecule RNA-targeting approach offers significant advantages in the development of therapies for oncology and neurological disorders, and its R&D platform holds potential for expansion into other disease areas. In just a few short years, Rgenta has established distinctive capabilities in discovering small-molecule drugs that target RNA and has made impressive progress in building and advancing its pipeline. We will provide ample industry resources as needed to support the company’s continued growth,” stated AstraZeneca, emphasizing its strong focus on RNA-targeted drug development.

Shan Junbao, Chairman of CICC Capital and Designated Representative of the Executive Partner of the AstraZeneca-CICC Healthcare Industry Fundstated, “We are thrilled to participate in Rgenta’s latest round of financing. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought mRNA vaccines into the public spotlight, and drug development targeting RNA holds equally tremendous potential. We look forward to working with our investment partners to support Rgenta’s unique RNA-targeting platform technology and its drug pipeline development, thereby tackling more targets traditionally considered ‘undruggable’ and enabling the cure of a broader range of human diseases.”

Rgenta Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that develops small-molecule drugs targeting traditionally “undruggable” targets by building an RNA-related target discovery and screening platform. These targets are often located in key regulatory processes and signaling pathways of disease progression, making them ideal for therapeutic intervention. Rgenta’s proprietary technology platform mines extensive genomic data to identify RNA targets amenable to selective modulation by small molecules, and designs molecular glues to modulate the spliceosome and regulate protein–RNA interactions. Rgenta is developing a pipeline of oral, RNA-targeted small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and neurological disorders.

AstraZeneca CICC Healthcare Industry Fund is a private equity fund jointly initiated by AstraZeneca and CICC Capital, focusing on investments in the healthcare industry. Leveraging AstraZeneca’s global industrial strengths and CICC Capital’s extensive experience in capital operations, the fund concentrates on investment areas such as biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostic services, and digital health. It is committed to integrating industrial and financial resources to provide dual empowerment—from R&D to commercialization—for enterprises and investment partners, jointly fostering innovative development in China’s healthcare industry.