Suzhou Ribo Life Science Co., Ltd. (06938.HK), and its subsidiary Ribocure Pharmaceuticals AB (collectively referred to as "Ribo"), in collaboration with Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Madrigal, NASDAQ: MDGL) announce the successful achievement of the first candidate drug nomination milestone within their siRNA partnership. This milestone is the result of efficient collaboration and will be followed by immediate initiation of IND-enabling studies to support planned clinical studies.

This partnership fully underscores Ribo's and Madrigal's joint commitment to advancing cutting-edge RNA therapeutics for liver diseases, with a primary focus on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a field with tremendous unmet medical need. The collaboration covers multiple preclinical assets and further broadens the potential liver-directed therapeutic landscape for MASH.

"We are delighted to achieve the first key milestone in our joint MASH program with Madrigal in just a few months. Madrigal has established a market leading presence and profound clinical expertise in the MASH field, while Ribo possesses world-class capabilities in siRNA drug discovery and delivery technology.  Our complementary strengths have driven the rapid progress of this project. Both parties are dedicated to accelerating the development of our novel siRNA candidate for MASH. We look forward to advancing this collaborative program together and bringing promising new therapeutic options to patients worldwide living with MASH," said Li-Ming Gan, co-CEO & Global R&D President of Ribo.