Offline Forum on Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Innovation and Development Announces Agenda
Rigerna
Innovative Small Nucleic Acid Drug Developer
WestGene
mRNA Drug R&D and Manufacturing Company
Nucleic Acid Drugs as a Cutting-Edge Field in Biopharmaceuticals: With their unique mechanisms of action, they show great potential in areas such as oncology and CNS diseases, and are now experiencing rapid development opportunities. However, the industry still faces many challenges, including delivery technologies, CMC processes, quality control, and regulatory compliance, necessitating collaboration across the supply chain to overcome these obstacles. On May 14th, Yaorong Circle, in collaboration with Cytiva, hosted the Nucleic Acid Drug Innovation Forum in Shanghai. This forum focused on key frontier topics in the nucleic acid drug industry and conducted in-depth roundtable discussions on the efficient integration of R&D and CMC. The forum brought together industry experts to address technical difficulties and industrialization pain points, share cutting-edge achievements, analyze practical challenges, and build an effective platform for exchange and cooperation. It aims to enhance and accelerate nucleic acid drug R&D, expedite the clinical translation of innovative results, and promote high-quality industrial development.
The conference agenda is subject to the actual event, and more guest itineraries are being confirmed...
Co-organized by: PharmaCircle, Cytiva
Forum Time: May 14th
Topic Confirmation in Progress
Hui Aimin enCureGen, Founder & Chairman & CEO
Next-Generation Small Nucleic Acid Drug Development Driven by Innovative Technologies (Proposed)
Du ZhiqiangRigerna, Chief Operating Officer
Extended Applications of Antibodies: mRNA Drugs (Proposed)
Song XiangrongRigerna, Co-founder, PhD Supervisor at Sichuan University
Tea Break
Application of Antibody Conjugation to Enhance Extrhepatic Targeted Delivery of Small Nucleic Acid Drugs
Kong HaoSenior Scientist in Nucleic Acid Chemistry at GenScript, Nanjing
Progress in the Development of Circular RNA Drugs
Tang Chenxiang Rigerna, Chief Executive Officer
Roundtable: From PCC to IND — How to Efficiently Bridge the R&D and CMC Ends?
Lu HangRigerna CEO
Lin JiaqiRigerna, Founder
Li XudongYisu Bio & Xilan Bio, Founder
Lunch Break
Key Process Challenges and Strategies in Oligonucleotide Drug CMC
Ruan QiankunCytiva China, Small Nucleic Acid Process Manager
Application of Enzyme Catalysis Technology in the Synthesis of Nucleic Acid Drugs
Guest Itinerary Confirmation in Progress
ALNYLAM BIOSCIENCES Small Nucleic Acid Drugs: International Strategy and Practice
Chunlin ZhaoAnlong Biotech, Founder
Application and Clinical Progress of mRNA Technology in the Development of Cancer Prevention and Treatment Drugs
Cen MountainRigerna, Co-founder & CSO
Tea Break
Chemical Reactions and Quality Control in Oligonucleotide Synthesis
Feng BingSenior Director of Oligonucleotide R&D at Zhong肽 Biochemical
Sirnaomics GalAhead Delivery Platform: Technical Features and Progress
Tian WeiweiSirnaomics, Vice President of R&D
Research on In Vivo Targeted Delivery of Novel Nucleic Acid Lipid Nanoparticles
Yang Zhenjun Peking University, Professor
Topic Confirmation in Progress
Caiyi FeiChengshi Biomedical, Vice President & Co-Founder
Application of Oligonucleotide Drugs in the Treatment of Chronic Diseases
Huang ZeaoYuekang Pharmaceuticals,Head of Oligonucleotide Therapy Development
*Sorted by the initial letters of names A-Z, no special meaning.
30 Years of In-Depth Research in Virology: Basic Research in Virology and Experience in the Development and Production of Viral Vaccines and Drugs
A recognized scholar in the field of virology, with approximately 310+ publications in internationally renowned journals related to virology and drug development, and 70+ authorized patents.
Led national 973 projects, "Eleventh Five-Year Plan," "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" new drug creation projects, and the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" major science and technology projects for infectious diseases, as well as key national R&D projects, the Canadian AIDS Research Foundation, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research drug development projects.
Led the early-stage research and development of more than ten mRNA drugs, including preventive vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, RSV, and therapeutic HPV vaccines. Conducted the development of multiple viral vaccines and drugs, such as the anti-HIV drug IMB26 and the EV71 vaccine, obtaining two FDA approvals.
Professor and Researcher at the Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Peking Union Medical College
Dr. Du Zhiqiang (Danny) serves as the COO of the company, overseeing the development of the small nucleic acid innovative drug pipeline, improving and accelerating the industrialization process, and promoting international cooperation and expanding the company’s overall influence.
China Medical University 7-Year Combined Bachelor-Master Program in Clinical Medicine
Attending Physician at Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University
Ph.D. in Biology, Texas Tech University, USA
Postdoctoral Fellow in Tumor Biology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA
Core R&D Role in Well-Known MNC Pharmaceutical Company
Vice President of R&D at a large listed pharmaceutical company in China
Dr. Du Zhiqiang has nearly 20 years of experience in drug research and development and industrial operation, having held core R&D roles at renowned multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, and Amgen. In recent years, he served as the Vice President overseeing R&D at Shanghai Renhui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Tonghua Dongbao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., both large publicly listed companies in China. Dr. Du possesses extensive expertise in pharmaceutical R&D, regulatory submissions, clinical medicine, industrial development, and corporate operations management, with particularly profound understanding and accomplishments in the field of chronic diseases.
Dr. Du Zhiqiang Joins Rigerna as COO, Mainly Responsible for: R&D project initiation and forward-looking, strategic layout of the company's innovative pipeline; leading the preclinical research, registration submission, clinical development, and related resource connection and maintenance of the R&D center’s ongoing pipeline; promoting and expanding the company's international operations, cooperation, and development, among other critical tasks.
Ph.D. in Science from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Chief Engineer of the National Engineering Center for Nucleic Acid Drugs in China, and Project Leader of the sub-project under the National Key Special Project "Innovative Research on Nucleic Acid Drug Varieties and Precision Modification and Novel Encapsulation Common Technologies (2017ZX09303013)." Currently serves as the Senior Director of the Oligonucleotide Division at Zhongpei Biotechnology Co., Ltd., mainly responsible for the construction of the nucleic acid pharmaceutical platform, the establishment of oligonucleotide R&D and production teams, as well as project management and production.
Former Executive President of Fosun Pharma, Global R&D President and Chief Medical Officer, Chairman of the Scientific Committee, and Fosun Global Partner. In early 2020, he led the collaboration between Fosun Pharma and Germany's BioNTech, participating in the development of the world's first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. He directly oversaw the R&D of the vaccine Comirnaty in the Greater China region and its market launch in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, driving the development of China’s mRNA industry. He directly led the global R&D and market launch of several key small molecule and biologic anticancer drugs, such as Ixazomib and Isatuximab, and spearheaded the R&D and market launch of innovative drugs like Ixazomib and Avatrombopag in China. In 2013, he pioneered the clinical registration model of global Phase III clinical trials with Chinese extension studies, paving the way for innovative drugs to be registered and launched in China using global Phase III clinical data. He has received over 20 awards, including the Fourth Translational Medicine - International Cooperation Award and the International Young Scientist Award in Gastrointestinal Cancer. He has published more than a hundred papers (including in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and Nature Medicine) and authored eight specialized books in Chinese, English, and Japanese. Formerly served as Global Vice President at Sanofi, Director of Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Therapy, and Deputy Director of the Oncology Committee of the China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association.
Professor Xiangrong Song, Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics, Postdoctoral Fellow in Biology, Visiting Scholar in Nanomedicine and Immunology at Harvard Medical School, currently serves as a Researcher/Doctoral Supervisor at the National Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Sichuan University. Selected as a national-level young talent, Chief Scientist of China's National Key R&D Program, General Manager/Scientific Founder of Rigerna.
Engaged in the research and development of innovative drugs based on targeted delivery for nearly 20 years, with over 70 first-author/corresponding-author SCI papers published in journals such as *Nat Nanotechnol*, *Nat Comm*, and *Sci Adv*. Applied for 107 invention patents (including 29 international patents). The nano-adjuvant (WGa01), led by him, has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for marketing in China. He has obtained one Phase II clinical trial approval and four Phase I clinical trial approvals for a Class 1 mRNA nano-new drug, with three entering clinical trial research. In China, he has also obtained two clinical trial approvals for small-molecule targeted drugs. He led the team to win the top prize (Excellence Award) in the 2022 National Disruptive Technology Innovation Competition organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. He serves as an editorial board member of *Sig Transduct Target Ther*, *Asian J Pharm Sci*, and *Eur J Pharm Sci*, a committee member of the Nucleic Acid Drug Branch of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, a youth committee member of the Pharmaceutics Special Committee of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, a committee member of the Nano Biotechnology Branch of the China Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Association, and the Chairman of the Western Innovation Center of the Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professionals Association (SAPA).
Dr. Tang Chenxiang is the Chief Executive Officer of Rigerna. He graduated from Tsinghua University with a double major in Biology and Economics, and obtained his Ph.D. from Yale University, where he conducted research in structural biology and biochemistry related to immunology. Dr. Tang has over 10 years of experience in biochemistry and immunology as well as extensive management expertise. He has held positions such as Assistant to the President in multinational corporations and startups, and has published multiple high-quality SCI articles in top-tier journals. Before joining Rigerna, he established Maicom Bio, a biopharmaceutical development platform under Hengrui Group, and served as its CEO, gaining substantial hands-on experience. Dr. Tang is a Professional Practice Professor at the MBA Center of Shanghai University, a member of the Tsinghua Entrepreneurs Association, and a member of the Pudong New Area Young Entrepreneurs Association. He has received honors such as the Pudong New Area Mingzhu Leading Talent and the First Prize in the inaugural "Mingzhu Cup" Entrepreneurship Competition of Pudong New Area.
Founding Partner of Anlong Fund, Founder of Anlong Biotech. First graduating class of Tsinghua University’s Biology Department, Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and MBA from the University of Chicago. Former Senior Manager at Pfizer US, Managing Director at Guoke Jiahé and Kangqiao Capital. Possesses over thirty years of entrepreneurial and investment experience in life sciences and healthcare, having invested in outstanding companies such as Innovent Biologics, Berry Genomics, I-Mab, Ascletis Pharma, Laekna Therapeutics, Inmagene Biopharmaceuticals, and Guoke Hengtai. Former Chairman of the inaugural Alumni Association of Tsinghua University's School of Life Sciences, School of Medicine, and School of Pharmaceutical Sciences; senior member of BayHelix. Outside of his profession, he enjoys football and skiing, has worked as a DJ, and is the proud father of three beautiful and adorable daughters. Anlong Fund is a fund focused on early-stage life sciences and healthcare sectors within China, with investment areas spanning life sciences, pharmaceutical R&D, medical devices, healthcare services, and related fields. Anlong Biotech is a leading domestic nucleic acid drug company, specializing in new drug research and development for gene therapy, RNA, and gene editing.
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