Here’s a look at global biopharma company news stories including Rona Therapeutics, Genuine Bio and NEOsphere Bio.
Biopharma is a global business in general, and increasingly showing national cooperation and business deals. Here’s a look at a few global biopharma news stories.
Rona Picked Up Rights to Sanofi’s siRNA Therapeutic Portfolio and Technology Platform
Shanghai-based Rona Therapeutics acquired worldwide exclusive rights to Paris-based Sanofi’s siRNA platform of chemical modification and delivery moiety. It also acquired rights to four preclinical candidates for undisclosed targets. The rights will allow Rona to expand and accelerate its siRNA portfolio in liver and non-liver applications.
Silencing RNA or short interfering RNA (siRNA) is a double-stranded non-coding RNA molecule. It interferes with the expression of specific genes with complementary DNA sequences by degrading mRNA after transcription. This prevents translation into a protein, which has potential therapeutic value.
Rona is making an undisclosed upfront payment to Sanofi, as well as development and commercial milestones and royalties on net sales of any products that come out of the licensing arrangement.
China Grants Conditional Approval to Genuine Bio’s Azvudine for COVID-19
China’s regulatory body granted conditional approval to Genuine Biotech’s Azvudine pill to treat adults with COVID-19. The drug is a reverse transcriptase inhibitor originally developed to treat Hepatitis C and approved last year to treat HIV virus infections. China has a “dynamic COVID zero” policy with a goal to eliminate every outbreak, including small ones. This policy depends upon mass testing and strict quarantines.
China approved Azvudine in July 2021 for certain HIV-1 viral infections. The Chinese National Medical Products Administration granted conditional approval for adults with “normal type” COVID. This is a term used in China to describe COVID-19 infection with no signs of pneumonia.
In a Phase III trial, 40.4% of patients receiving the drug demonstrated improvement in symptoms seven days after initial dosing, compared to 10.9% in the placebo group.
NEOsphere Bio Closed Series A Round
Germany’s NEOsphere Biotechnologies GmbH closed a Series A financing round for an undisclosed amount. The round included four investors, with Munich-based Venture BioMEed Investors GmbH as the primary investor.
The funds raised will be used to expand the company’s proteomics platform that screens large small-molecule libraries for degraders of pathogenic proteins that were previously believed to be undruggable. Targeted protein degradation (TPD) is designed to eliminate instead of inhibit disease-causing proteins. The company’s technologies combine data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) with custom-built data interpretation. This delivers high-throughput proteomic analysis with high-level sensitivity, prediction, and data completeness. It is capable of screening thousands of degrader compounds against more than 10,000 proteins.
“To exploit the full potential of TPD, proteome-wide analysis should ideally accompany any degrader molecule, from initial characterization at the screening stage to final drug candidate nomination,” stated Henrik Daub, PhD., scientific founder and chief scientific officer of NEOsphere. “Our platform allows for deep proteomic screening compatible with both early target discovery and advanced compound optimization, granting unprecedented access to the previously undruggable target space. Working with our partners, we aim to connect their innovative degrader chemistries with the whole proteome. Thus, we create novel drug discovery opportunities at scale and enable our partners to build broad and robust pipelines of first-in-class therapeutics.”
