On October 12, 2021 Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co, Ltd (SEHK: 3692), a leading R&D driven biopharmaceutical company in China and OliX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (KOSDAQ: 226950), a leading developer of RNAi therapeutics, reported a licensing and collaboration agreement to discover, develop and commercialize siRNA therapeutics in key targeted indications in Greater China, which includes mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau (Press release, Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical, OCT 12, 2021, View Source [SID1234591160]). As part of the collaboration agreement, the companies will leverage OliX Pharmaceuticals’ GalNAc-asiRNA platform to address various liver-based targets that are implicated in cardiovascular, metabolic, and other indications, utilizing Hansoh’s strong R&D, manufacturing and commercialization capabilities in Greater China.
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Through this agreement, OliX will use its GalNAc-asiRNA platform technology to discover lead compounds and secure development candidates for targets in cardiovascular, metabolic, and other diseases associated with the liver. Hansoh will have exclusive commercial rights to these therapeutics in Greater China and OliX will have rights in the rest of the world. OliX will receive an initial upfront payment of $6.5 million with up to $450 million plus royalties based on key milestones.
"We are thrilled to partner with OliX Pharmaceuticals, a leader in siRNA development with an established clinical stage portfolio, and look forward to utilizing their technology platform in our development process," said Eliza Sun, Executive Director of the Board of Hansoh Pharma. "OliX Pharmaceuticals’ innovative GalNAc-asiRNA platform allows us to consider unique gene silencing technology in addressing a broad range of unmet medical needs here in Greater China."
"We are extremely excited to partner with one of the largest biopharmaceutical entities in Greater China," said Dong Ki Lee, Ph.D., founder and chief executive officer of OliX Pharmaceuticals. "This collaboration marks our first platform deal with a large pharmaceutical company and we believe it is only the beginning for our unique technology, which has already shown great promise in a number of indications, including our exciting preclinical data recently presented on our NASH compound. We look forward to leveraging the full potential of our proprietary GalNAc-asiRNA platform using Hansoh’s proven clinical development and commercialization process, as well as our research to date to accelerate the development of critical drugs."
Asymmetric small interfering RNA
Asymmetric small interfering RNA (asiRNA) represents the next generation of RNAi therapeutics through efficient gene regulation. Compared to existing siRNA therapeutics, OliX Pharmaceuticals’ asiRNA shows comparable gene silencing and significantly reduced siRNA-mediated side effects such as off-target gene silencing and immune stimulation.