Suzhou Ribo Life Science entered a broad collaboration with Ionis Pharma of San Diego to develop RNA therapeutics. The agreement has multiple parts: Ribo in-licensed China rights for two Ionis second-gen antisense candidates, one in metabolic disease and the other a cancer drug, and it optioned a third; Ribo will also use Ionis’ ssRNAi technology to discover additional drugs. Ribo will make an undisclosed upfront payment to Ionis and also grant equity to Ionis. Last month, Ribo raised $39 million in a Series B funding led by China’s State Development and Investment Corp.
