On November 9, 2023, Suzhou Sanegene Bio Inc. (SanegeneBio) announced that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Hangzhou Sino-US Huadong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huadong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Huadong Medicine, SZ.000963), to develop siRNA drug for the treatment of chronic metabolic diseases by leveraging SanegeneBio's innovative LEAD (Ligand and Enhancer Assisted Delivery) platform, and further explore collaboration opportunities for novel siRNA drugs discovery and development in other therapeutic areas.

This collaboration will fully leverage Huadong Medicine's deep expertise in pharmaceutical development and extensive experience in clinical development and commercialization, and the strength of SanegeneBio's proprietary LEAD platform for RNAi drug discovery, aiming to accelerate the process of providing groundbreaking and innovative treatment options for patients with chronic metabolic diseases.

As a new modality, RNAi drugs are different from traditional small molecules and antibody drugs regulating at the protein level, they can target upstream processes and regulate the expression of genes and proteins through a broader range of RNA targets. There are multiple advantages of RNAi drugs, including broad potential drug targets, wide addressable indications, high specificity, long duration, and good safety. In recent years, the RNAi technology has demonstrated significant therapeutic potential in various chronic disease areas, apart from rare diseases. Faced with huge unmet clinical needs, both parties will collaborate and leverage complementary strengths to accelerate the development of siRNA drugs targeting multiple disease areas, providing more advanced and better treatment options for more patients.

"We are delighted to collaborate with Huadong Medicine and leverage our proprietary innovative LEAD platform to drive drug development. Huadong Medicine has deep expertise and a broad presence in the field of metabolic disease. This collaboration will leverage respective advantages of both companies and unlock the full potential of RNAi technology. We look forward to working closely with Huadong Medicine to advance the development of novel siRNA drugs, to meet the unmet clinical needs of the chronic metabolic disease market and benefit patients worldwide as soon as possible." said Dr. Weimin Wang, founder and chief executive officer of SanegeneBio.

"SanegeneBio is committed to developing novel siRNA drugs based on RNA interference (RNAi) technology, which coincides with the vision of Huadong Medicine in the R&D of nucleic acid drugs. SanegeneBio has established a proprietary siRNA drug discovery platform. With its own advantages in R&D, registration and commercialization in the field of metabolic diseases, Huadong Medicine will collaborate closely with SanegeneBio to advance the development of novel siRNA drugs, so as to benefit patients with chronic metabolic diseases with more effective and safer novel drugs." said Dr. Dongzhou Liu, chief scientific officer of Huadong Medicine.

About Huadong Medicine

Established in 1993 and headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Huadong Medicine Co.,Ltd (Huadong Medicine; stock code: SZ.000963) adheres to the corporate philosophy of " scientific-based, patient-centered", after more than 20 years of development, the company's business covers the whole pharmaceutical industry chain, with four major business segments: pharmaceutical manufacturing, pharmaceutical commercialization, medical cosmetology and industrial microbiology, and has developed into a large comprehensive listed pharmaceutical company integrated with R&D, production, and commercial operations. In 2022, the company realized operating revenue of 37.715 billion yuan. At present, the company and its main subsidiaries have more than 10,000 employees and has extensive business coverage and marketing capabilities. For more information, please visit: www.eastchinapharm.com

About SanegeneBio

SanegeneBio is an emerging RNAi-based company developing innovative RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics driven by the cutting-edge delivery technology. Founded in 2021, SanegeneBio was propelled by a team of industry-leading experts and has operations in both the US and China. Since its inception, SanegeneBio has successfully established proprietary chemical modification platform, hepatic and extrahepatic delivery platforms, enabling tissue-specific delivery of a wide range of RNA therapeutics to efficiently knock down disease-causing genes. Our fast-growing RNAi portfolio covers a broad range of therapeutic areas including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, immunology-related diseases, and nervous system diseases. Among them, our first RNAi drug has entered the clinical stage, and several pipelines are in progress simultaneously. SanegeneBio is committed to creating transformational RNAi medicines through striving for scientific innovation to address unmet medical needs worldwide and change the lives of patients and families. For further information, please visit: http://www.sanegenebio.com.