On April 15, 2024, Shixi (Guangzhou) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shixi Biotech") and BeiGene Bio Island Innovation Center (hereinafter referred to as "BeiGene Innovation Center") announced at the strategic signing ceremony of "Innovation-driven, Seeking Common Development" to jointly create a strategic cooperation center for nucleic acid innovative therapies, dedicated to the research and development and innovation of new nucleic acid drugs.
It is reported that BeiGene Innovation Center has decided to join hands with Shixi Biotech to become one of its important partners. This cooperation will bring multi-faceted support to Shixi Biotech, and provide professional guidance and empowerment in drug target selection and indication development, marking an important step for both parties in the R&D and innovation of new nucleic acid drugs.
Dr. Jian Liu, CEO of BeiGene Innovation Center, reviewed how he met the founder team of MomentBio. He said that the BeiGene Innovation Center actively supports the start-up biotech company because its team has a solid foundation in RNA editing theory and practice, as well as rich experience in corporatization operations.
Dr. Jian Liu, CEO of BeiGene Innovation Center
Dr. Jian Liu said, "BeiGene Innovation Center has always wanted to support innovative companies and share our experiences. Two years ago, Dr. Liu Jian came into contact with this team and vigorously promoted cooperation with them. BeiGene's Innovation Center is dedicated to empowering talented young scientists and entrepreneurs, and was created to meet the needs of startups in terms of technology, experimentation, mentoring, and more by providing a variety of amenities and services.
He also said that the BeiGene Innovation Center will provide support across the entire industry value chain to empower MomentBio and looks forward to further collaborations in the future. "We hope that through this cooperation, we can provide all-round support for Shixi Biotech. We hope that Shixi Biotech will become a bright new star in the future development. ”
Professor Kuang Dongming, Deputy Dean of the School of Life Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University, said in his speech that in recent years, the top ten scientific and technological advances selected by Science magazine in the United States have focused on life sciences, highlighting its core position in the development of modern science and technology.
Professor Kwong Dongming, Vice Dean of the School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University
Professor Kwong Dongming said that the development of life sciences is of great significance to the future of the country. In the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Bioeconomy" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2022, the development priorities of four areas, including biomedicine, bioagriculture, bioresources and bioinformatics, were clearly pointed out. The School of Life Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University has been at the forefront of research in the field of evolutionary and synthetic biology in China.
The RNA-editing drugs developed by Shixi Biosciences, as the translational application direction that the school focuses on, led by Professor Zhang Rui, will become an important example of technology research transformation in the School of Life Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University. It is believed that with the support of the BeiGene Innovation Center, an incubation platform with a mature management team, Shixi Biotech will give full play to its advantages and achieve greater achievements.
Shao Jingbo, Deputy Director of the Guangzhou Development Zone Management Committee, said in his speech that BeiGene, as a global oncology drug innovation company, has established a macromolecule production base here since it settled in the Guangzhou Development Zone in 2017. Currently, BeiGene's Phase 1 and Phase 2 plants in the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City were completed in September 2019 and December 2020, respectively, with a single-use reactor capacity of 24,000 liters. In addition, the Guangzhou site will add 10,000 litres of capacity in 2023, bringing the total capacity to 64,000 litres (as of December 31, 2023). What's even more exciting is that the ADC commercial production base has also been successfully completed recently. After rapid growth in recent years, BeiGene has not only become a leader in innovative pharmaceutical companies, but also a benchmark on the world stage.
Shao Jingbo, deputy director of the Guangzhou Development Zone Management Committee
To further optimize the innovation ecosystem, BeiGene has established an innovation center on the Guangzhou Bio Island, Shao said. This is an important project organized by Dr. Liu Jian. He adheres to the design concept of empowering biotech companies with BeiGene's talents, R&D capabilities and market-oriented efficiency, and empowers innovative companies from R&D, production to sales, injecting strong impetus into the biotechnology industry in the Greater Bay Area.
The company is a representative of the R&D and innovation of new nucleic acid drugs, and is one of more than a dozen projects being incubated by BeiGene's Innovation Center. In addition, as an outstanding representative of the Sun Yat-sen University team, the successful transformation of the results of the company has been accelerated and supported by the BeiGene Innovation Center, demonstrating the vision of the BeiGene Innovation Center to support the success of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Shao Jingbo said that the Guangzhou Development Zone is the core area of Guangzhou's biomedical industry. The total annual revenue of the biopharmaceutical, health and medical device industry in the region exceeds 29 billion US dollars, and there are more than 4,000 well-known biomedical and medical device enterprises at home and abroad. It has 209 R&D institutions at or above the provincial level, of which 12 are at the national level, and gathers 25 academician workstations such as Zhong Nanshan, Xu Tao, Song Erwei, Xie Xiaoliang, Wang Xiaodong, Shi Yigong, etc., and in 2023, 100 drug clinical approvals will be approved, accounting for about 93% of Guangzhou.
Shao Jingbo also introduced the biological island in detail. Bio Island is a life science cooperation zone in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, committed to building a world-class biomedical R&D center. Since the opening of the island in 2011, more than 300 companies have been introduced and settled in AstraZeneca's Southern Headquarters, Jinyu Medical, Danaher Greater Bay Area Headquarters, etc. There are also life science research institutions such as Academician Zhong's Guangzhou National Laboratory and strategic platforms such as the South China New Drug Rapid Customs Clearance Platform. Guangzhou Development Zone is making every effort to build a policy pilot agglomeration area with the brand of "Guangzhou International Biological Island", and work together to build a global biomedical innovation and industrial development highland.
He mentioned that at the recent inauguration ceremony of BeiGene's Guangzhou production base ADC building, Academician Xiaodong Wang, co-founder and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of BeiGene, mentioned that BeiGene's development is like a marathon runner, and he has always worked tirelessly towards the finish line. "I sincerely hope that BeiGene can truly realize the spirit of '100 innovative drugs for the benefit of the world' and continue to lead the innovation and development of the biomedical and health industry." Shao Jingbo said.
The picture shows (back row, from left) Wei Guoxing, Xin Rong, Chen Chao, Liu Jian, Shao Jingbo, Long Xiaoteng, Kuang Dongming, Liu Chong, (front row, from left) Liu Weimin and Zhang Rui witnessing the strategic signing of BeiGene and Shixi Biotech.
The picture shows Chen Chao, Liu Weimin, Long Xiaoteng, Shao Jingbo, Liu Jian, Xin Rong, Zhang Rui, Liu Chong, Kuang Dongming, and Wei Guoxing witnessing the unveiling of the "Nucleic Acid Innovative Therapy Strategic Cooperation Center" between BeiGene and Shixi Biotech.
Innovation and a global vision will be the winning concepts that will drive the future. In this process, the active participation of industrial capital is particularly crucial. Long Xiaoteng, the representative of the investor and the founding partner of the Beijing Life Science Park Innovation Investment Fund, said in his speech that he has long lost count of how many times he has stepped into the BeiGene Innovation Center, but the investment of the Beijing Life Science Park Innovation Investment Fund in Shixi Biotechnology is vivid.
As early as May 2022, the fund invested in Shixi Biotech for the first time. It is gratifying that the company has demonstrated excellent preclinical data, which fully proves its innovation ability.
Long Xiaoteng, founding partner of Beijing Life Science Park Innovation Investment Fund
Now, the new round of financing has once again attracted the attention of many investors and enterprises, including the support of BeiGene Innovation Center and the Guangzhou Municipal Government. This is not only an affirmation of the past efforts of Shixi Biotech, but also a recognition of its future potential. At the same time, it also reflects the concept of Beijing Life Science Park Innovation Investment Fund in terms of source innovation and commitment to providing achievement transformation services for scientists and entrepreneurs.
We are even more honored that BeiGene's Changping R&D Center is also located in Zhongguancun Life Science Park, which is the result of the incubation of the Beijing Life Science Park Innovation Investment Fund ten years ago. Today, BeiGene has not only grown into a leader in innovative drugs, but also has a professional team in the innovation center in Guangzhou, incubating innovative companies such as Shixi Biologics. Long Xiaoteng was also deeply pleased and proud.
Ms. Xin Rong, general manager of Shixi Biotechnology, introduced the exploration of the development path of nucleic acid therapy under the new situation. The RNA editing platform of MomentBio focuses on precise single-point editing at the RNA level in the form of small nucleotide drugs, flexibly and reversibly regulating the expression and function of genes, and realizing a variety of regulation of RNA. From the perspective of biotechnology, the RNA editing platform of Cosmopolitan has shown more secure and diversified characteristics.
Finally, she thanked the Guangzhou Development District and BeiGene Innovation Center for their support. "Looking ahead, we look forward to establishing deeper cooperation with the government, universities, industry and investment communities to jointly promote the development of new drug research and development in the Greater Bay Area. Xin Rong said.
Ms. Xin Rong, General Manager of Shixi Biotechnology
Shixi Biotech is stationed in the laboratory of BeiGene's Bio Island Innovation Center
In an interview, Professor Zhang Rui, founder of Shixi Biotech and Professor of the School of Life Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University, introduced in detail the advantages and application scenarios of Shixi Biotech's RNA editing technology based on endogenous ADAR protein. "Compared with CRISPR technology, RNA editing technology based on endogenous ADAR proteins is more flexible and safer, allowing for repair and optimization of protein sequence and function without changing the genome sequence," he said. In addition, Shixi Biotech adopts the RNA editing path in the form of small nucleotide drugs. Compared with other gene editing therapy drugs, the most unique characteristics of this pathway are reversible efficacy and dose adjustable, so the RNA editing technology of this pathway has broad application prospects in the treatment of various common diseases caused by non-genetic mutations and various indications that require functional improvement, such as cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, anti-aging, etc., and also has a good safety profile. ”
Professor Zhang also revealed that the MIMIC RNA editing platform with independent intellectual property rights can repair and optimize the sequence and function of proteins without permanent modification of the genome.
Professor Zhang Rui, founder of Shixi Biotechnology and Professor Zhang Rui of the School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University
Commenting on the collaboration with BeiGene's Innovation Center, Prof. Zhang said, "This collaboration will bring more international resources, including target discovery and clinical research support, to accelerate our R&D process. We look forward to working together to develop more clinically valuable therapeutics. ”
Group photo of all the guests
The information in this press release is based on interviews and meeting minutes and is intended to provide an objective report on the progress of the collaboration between BeiGene Innovation Center and CosmoBio. Readers should verify the relevant data and information on the technical details and R&D progress involved. At the same time, this press release does not constitute a recommendation of any investment behavior.
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