Apr 21,2017
On April 21, 2017, Suzhou Ribo Life Science Co., Ltd. announced the successful completion of Series B private equity financing of RMB 270 million (about $40 million), which introduced strong capital support for developing China's oligonucleotide pharmaceutical industry. This round of financing was led by the Advanced Manufacturing Industry Investment Fund managed by SDIC Fund Management, and jointly contributed by new investors such as China Resources Group, Zhenghe Yuantong Capital, Qidi Rongchuang, and investors in Series A such as Legend Capital, GGV and Panlin Capital.
Ribo is an innovative drug R&D company and a leading enterprise in the siRNA pharmaceutical industry in China. Oligonucleotide therapeutics are a novel class of drug molecules that achieve the purpose of disease treatment by attacking and silencing messenger RNA (mRNA) of proteins associated with disease. Oligonucleotide therapeutics pharmaceutical development is one of the most significant breakthroughs in the frontiers of biopharmaceuticals in the past 15 years. It is currently the frontiers and research focus in the field of biomedicine. It is widely believed that siRNA pharmaceutical development is likely to bring revolutionary changes to the pharmaceutical field in the next 10-year and form the third wave of modern pharmaceuticals, from which siRNA pharmaceutical development has great development depth and socioeconomic significance. Through independent R&D and international cooperation, Ribo has successfully built a vertically integrated drug R&D system and a strong pipeline for innovative oligonucleotide therapeutics. Relying on its internationally advanced oligonucleotide therapeutics development technology platform, the company has been actively cooperating with leading international companies in the field of oligonucleotide therapeutics through equity cooperation, technology transfer, co-development, licensing, self-development to accelerate the clinical research and marketing of new oligonucleotide therapeutics.
As a pioneer in China's oligonucleotide therapeutics pharmaceutical industry, Ribo has made many years of efforts to write the story of starting from scratch in a new strategic emerging innovative pharmaceutical field by gathering talents, technologies, resources, making continuous innovations and breakthroughs along the way. The core team of Ribo brings together top technical experts and enterprise management talents in the domestic and international oligonucleotide fields and in the small molecule pharmaceutical field. The company has established a technology platform and API preparation facilities which cover the whole industrial chain of oligonucleotide pharmaceutical development and are suitable for the R&D characteristics of oligonucleotide therapeutics. The product pipeline of Ribo includes an international multicenter study project for a phase 3 clinical study, and a number of projects put into approaching clinical applications. The company plans to apply for 3-4 projects successively and enter clinical research within two years. The product pipeline under development covers many fields such as oncology, optic nerve injury, viruses, metabolic diseases, and cardiovascular disease. The R&D progress of Ribo has accelerated China's entry into the world's first echelon in the development of oligonucleotide therapeutics R&D technology and drug varieties.
Dr. Zhang Hongyan, General Manager of Ribo, said, "At the beginning of the new year, we are pleased to see that the newly issued "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" for the Development of Biological Industry clearly includes oligonucleotide therapeutics in key development fields. Also, now we are more pleased to see that the achievements and development potential of Ribo in the R&D of oligonucleotide therapeutics and technologies have been further recognized by professional investment institutions such as SDIC Fund Management. With the support of this round of investment, the company will enter the rapid development channel of new drug R&D. On the one hand, it will intensify early R&D, cover more targets and indications, and produce more innovative technologies and innovative drugs for the R&D of oligonucleotide therapeutics with independent intellectual property rights. On the other hand, it will accelerate the progress of preclinical and clinical development of innovative drugs under research. In addition, it will promote the clinical application and marketing of the drug promptly, and realize the company vision of building an international first-class oligonucleotide pharmaceutical enterprise based in China and facing the world."
Dr. Yin Zheng, executive director of SDIC Fund Management, said, "As a professional private equity management institution, SDIC Fund Management adheres to the concept of value investment and focuses on discovering and creating value. SDIC Fund Management pays special attention to the development trend and industrialization prospect of cutting-edge technologies in the pharmaceutical industry. It is committed to seeking equity investment projects that master core technologies and lead industrial development to help industrialize scientific and technological innovation with capital. The siRNA pharmaceutical industry has great development potential in the pharmaceutical industry. As the flagship enterprise of the siRNA pharmaceutical industry in China, Ribo brings together many elites in the siRNA pharmaceutical technology in China and is the best in the industrialization of this pharmaceutical innovation technology. We are pleased to cooperate with Ribo and are convinced that Ribo will undoubtedly become an indispensable Chinese force in the international siRNA pharmaceutical industry."
Professor Liang Zicai, Chairman of Ribo Co. Ltd., one of the leading pioneers in the field of siRNA pharmaceutical development in China, further pointed out, "We are in the best period of the development of innovative drugs in China. The encouragement and support policies of the state and governments at all levels to develop innovative drugs provide good soil for the rooting and growth of innovative pharmaceutical industries such as siRNA pharmaceutical development. At the same time, a large number of high-level venture capital has introduced a strong impetus to accelerate the growth of innovative pharmaceutical enterprises such as Ribo. For this, we are very grateful. As always, we will focus on siRNA technological innovation and drugs R&D, striving to enable the public to use the world's leading innovative oligonucleotide therapeutics as soon as possible. We are confident in this and must go all out!"
About SDIC Fund Management
Established in July 2009, SDIC Fund Management is a professional private equity management institution that operates independently in accordance with market-oriented requirements. The fund directly or indirectly managed by SDIC Fund Management exceeds RMB 50 billion. The management funds include state-owned capital, private capital, social security, and insurance funds. It is one of the largest professional private equity management institutions in China.
