Qilu Pharmaceutical and Ribo Biopharma Announce Completion of Phase II Clinical Trial Enrollment for PCSK9-Targeting Innovative Drug RBD7022
Qilu Pharmaceutical
Specialty Formulations and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) Developer
Ribo Life Science
Small Nucleic Acid Drug Developer
May 7, 2025, China — Qilu Pharmaceutical and Ribo Life Science jointly announced that the Phase II clinical trial (registration number: CTR20244751) of their collaboratively developed PCSK9-targeted small nucleic acid drug RBD7022/QLC7401 has successfully completed enrollment of all participants. The trial included a total of 204 patients with hyperlipidemia, aiming to further evaluate the drug’s safety, efficacy, and long-term lipid-lowering potential, laying the groundwork for subsequent pivotal clinical studies.
Focusing on Global Cutting-edge Technologies, Addressing "Unmet Needs" in the Cardiovascular Field
"RBD7022 is a product developed by Ribo Life Science based on its proprietary intellectual property platform RiboGalSTAR."TMThe GalNAc-siRNA drug under development is the world's second siRNA drug targeting PCSK9 to enter clinical stages, following Leqvio. This drug effectively and sustainably lowers low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels by precisely inhibiting the expression of the PCSK9 protein in the liver. The technology overcomes the limitation of traditional drugs requiring frequent dosing, as a single injection can achieve continuous lipid-lowering effects for several months, offering a better treatment option for patients with hyperlipidemia. Currently, RBD7022 has completed Phase I clinical studies, demonstrating good safety, with clinical efficacy data meeting expectations.
As the world's first commercially available ultra-long-acting lipid-lowering siRNA drug, Novartis' Leqvio has seen rapid sales growth since its launch, with sales reaching $754 million (+114%) in 2024. In Q1 2025, the drug's sales amounted to $257 million (approximately 1.87 billion yuan), representing a year-over-year increase of 72%.
Powerful Combination: "Two-Way Empowerment" Between Technology Leader and Commercial Giant
On December 15, 2023, Ribo Life Science licensed the rights of RBD7022 in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao to Qilu Pharmaceutical, highlighting market confidence in the product. With its mature R&D system and commercialization network, Qilu Pharmaceutical is expected to quickly achieve localized production and market coverage of RBD7022 in China.
This is a powerful collaboration between a technology leader and a commercial giant. Ribo Life ScienceAs a leading company in the small nucleic acid drug field, its RiboGalSTARTMThe platform has reached an internationally leading level in terms of liver-targeted delivery efficiency, stability, and safety, and has laid out multiple pipelines for metabolic diseases and rare diseases. Meanwhile,Qilu PharmaceuticalWith the advantage of a full industrial chain and a mature commercialization network, in recent years, it has accelerated the layout in cutting-edge fields such as nucleic acid drugs and ADC through BD cooperation. This collaboration will further consolidate its influence in the cardiovascular sector.
The milestone of RBD7022 not only confirms the global competitiveness of Ribo Life Science in the source innovation of small nucleic acid drugs, but also highlights the industry-leading advantages of Qilu Pharmaceutical in the execution of complex clinical trials and industrialization, accelerating the push for domestically produced long-acting lipid-lowering drugs to enter the billion-dollar market.
