BOSTON, SHANGHAI, and SUZHOU – May 8, 2024, SanegeneBio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing innovative RNAi therapeutics, announced that the clinical trial application of SGB-3908 injection, an experimental drug candidate for the treatment of hypertension, has recently been officially accepted by the China Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration.
SGB-3908 is an RNAi-based experimental medicine drug targeting Angiotensinogen (AGT) for the treatment of hypertension. Preclinical data demonstrated that SGB-3908 significantly reduced AGT protein and related biomarkers including ANG I and ANG II in the serum of cynomolgus monkeys with hypertension, achieving a significant long-term antihypertensive efficacy without safety issues such as low blood pressure. SGB-3908 utilizes SanegeneBio’s proprietary siRNA platform technology, and displays industry-leading potency, durability, safety and tolerability in preclinical models.
“We are delighted that SGB-3908 has reached another important milestone, which demonstrates the execution efficiency of our team and further enriches SanegeneBio’s product portfolio in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. It is the close cooperation and concerted effort of both parties in the past months that drives the rapid progress of this project. We look forward to keeping the momentum of great cooperation between both parties to accelerate the clinical trial of SGB-3908, and benefit the hypertensive patients as soon as possible with better treatment options.”
said Dr. Weimin Wang, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SanegeneBio.
About Hypertension
Hypertension is a common chronic disease that currently affects over 1 billion people worldwide. It not only increases the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases while also potentially leads to complications such as kidney damage and impaired vision. With the aging population and the rising prevalence of risk factors such as obesity, lack of physical exercise, and unhealthy diet, the incidence of hypertension is still increasing globally. There are effective anti-hypertension treatments in clinical practice, however, these treatments have some disadvantages. For example the anti-hypertension drugs need to be taken every day, and hypertension is difficult to perceive when symptoms are not severe, which can lead to noncompliance in taking medicines. Poor compliance has become a major challenge in the treatment of hypertension, with less than 20% of hypertension patients achieving long-term effective control. As an alternative solution to address this challenge in the treatment of hypertension, siRNA drugs can directly knockdown the expression of AGT, with the advantages of long efficacy duration, good safety, and high compliance, thus is expected to bring better treatment options and long-term benefits to the hypertensive patients.
About SGB-3908
SGB-3908, an siRNA-GalNAc conjugate targeting Angiotensinogen (AGT) for the treatment of hypertension, is delivered to liver using SanegeneBio’s novel LEAD™ GalNAc platform to inhibit the synthesis of AGT in the liver through RNA interference. SGB-3908 can inhibit the synthesis of AGT in the liver, potentially leading to durable reductions of AGT protein, further causing a decrease in angiotensin (Ang) II, and ultimately resulting in vasodilation and lowering blood pressure. In December 2023, SanegeneBio and Innovent jointly announced that they entered into a collaboration agreement to co-develop SGB-3908, and Innovent obtained an exclusive option to license in the future development, manufacturing and commercialization rights of SGB-3908 in different regions.
About AGT
AGT is the upstream precursor in the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS), a cascade which has demonstrated function in blood pressure regulation, and the inhibition of AGT has shown well-established anti-hypertension effects.