Under the term of the collaboration, Rona will use proprietary RAZOR™ platform to discover and identify siRNA lead compounds directed to a novel target related to glomerulonephritis and Keymed will contribute research and translational expertise and capabilities. Keymed and Rona have entered into a profit/loss arrangement to further co-develop and commercialize therapeutic product candidates globally that emerge from these discovery efforts. The program is expected to enter into clinical stage in the first half of 2024.

"We are looking forward to partnering with Keymed to jointly discover and develop transformative RNA therapeutics globally," said Stella SHI, the founder and CEO of Rona. "Rona's proprietary next generation siRNA platform technology and the advanced biology expertise from Keymed is a strategic fit for developing first-in-class siRNA therapeutic for devastating diseases like glomerulonephritis."

"I am delightful to announce this collaboration between Keymed and Rona," said Dr. Bo CHEN, the founder and CEO of Keymed. "We keep focusing on the urgent unmet clinical needs and dedicating to provide patients with high-quality, affordable, and innovative therapies. Taking advantage of Rona's pioneering next generation siRNA platform and Keymed's sophisticated biology expertise, the collaboration will provide exciting opportunities for both companies to explore the potential targets that have not been successfully modulated through conventional therapeutic modalities."

Glomerulonephritis is a prominent cause of renal impairment and constitutes 25% to 30% of all end-stage renal disease cases. Common forms of primary glomerulonephritis include IgA Nephropathy (global prevalence is ~2.5 case per 100,000 persons, with much higher prevalence in Asia), Lupus nephritis (prevalence is 8-180 cases per 100,000 persons), Membranous nephropathy (incidence of 8-10 cases per 1 million persons), etc. There is an urgent need for new medicines that treat glomerulonephritis, as there are currently few approved drugs for the disease.