citybiz+ Sirnaomics Gets $1 Million Grant from Hong Kong Tech Agency

Sirnaomics Ltd., which is developing advanced RNAi therapeutics, has received a grant worth $1 million from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp. to accelerate research and development of its anticoagulant drug candidate.

The company, with joint headquarters in Hong Kong and Gaithersburg, Md., started Phase 1 trial for its RNAi drug candidate, STP122G, in April.

The funding “will allow us to accelerate development of our promising product candidate, STP122G, which can potentially transform patient care related to the anticoagulation therapeutics,” said Sirnaomics founder, Chairman and CEO Dr. Patrick Lu, an industry veteran who did his post-doctoral research at the University of Maryland at College Park and Georgetown University.

Ongoing Phase I Trials

“As a leading biopharmaceutical company in RNA medicine, we are committed to driving innovation in the industry and bringing new therapies to market to address unmet medical needs. We will continue our work to improve patient outcomes, advance the field of biopharmaceuticals and create long-term value for stakeholders,” he added.

Sirnaomics submitted a U.S. IND — or investigational new drug — application for STP122G in March and launched Phase I clinical trial the next month. The drug candidate is expected to be used across a broad range of disease indications as an anticoagulant therapeutic — for potential prevention and treatment of stroke after atrial fibrillation, for cancer patients after immunotherapy, and for improving total knee replacement recovery.

So far, Sirnaomics has raised $268 million over 8 rounds. Its investors include HKSTP and the Founder H Fund. The startup itself has invested in two other firms including RNAimmune. The company focuses on RNAi — or ribonucleic acid interference — therapy, which seeks to control disease by targeting specific disease-causing genes. The market for RNAi therapeutics is one of the fastest-growing in the drug industry. With a mere four drugs, the RNAi market surged to $220 million in 2020, from a mere $12 million in 2018.

Cancer Drugs

Sirnaomics has developed a novel therapeutic, STP705, for the treatment of cancer and fibrosis diseases, besides two RNAi-based drug candidates for oncology applications. One is in clinical development.

citybiz+ Sponsors

Lu, who also co-founded Intradigm Corp., has previously worked at Novartis, Digene Corp. and BioReliance. He has 18 issued and pending patents. Lu received his PhD from Sun Yat-sen University in China.

citybiz+ Cohorts

For the past two decades, the HKSTP has served as an international innovation and technology hub. Its bustling ecosystem has produced two unicorns — startups valued at over $ 1 billion. Its network includes over 13,000 research professionals and over 1,300 technology companies focused on healthtech, AI and robotics, fintech and smart city technologies.

The subsidy for Sirnaomics comes from HKSTP’s Clinical Translational Catalyst program, which focuses on therapeutics with the potential to improve people’s lives. The funding is aimed at advancing pre-clinical or clinical-stage projects, obtain regulatory approvals, conduct clinical trials and achieve commercialisation.