BeiGene Announces Strategic Research Collaboration with InnoRNA to Jointly Discover Novel mRNA Therapies

July 06, 2022 at 07:00 AM EDT

BeiGene and InnoRNA will jointly research a number of mRNA-LNP programs, and BeiGene will hold exclusive global development and commercialization rights for the product candidates from the programs

BeiGene will also gain a non-exclusive license to InnoRNA’s proprietary LNP Technology to support internal discovery efforts

BeiGene (NASDAQ: BGNE; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global, science-driven biotechnology company focused on developing innovative and affordable medicines to improve treatment outcomes and access for patients worldwide, today announced it entered into a worldwide strategic collaboration with InnoRNA, a biotechnology company with expertise in LNP-based delivery technology and mRNA drug discovery, to leverage its innovative technology platform for developing mRNA-based therapeutics.

“As a global biotechnology company, BeiGene is committed to delivering next-generation therapies through our own internal discovery engine and leveraging cutting-edge technology from experienced and innovative partners,” said Lai Wang, Ph.D., Global Head of R&D at BeiGene. “This collaboration with InnoRNA advances and supports our research efforts in the important field of mRNA therapies while securing critical, proprietary delivery tools.”

Under the terms of the agreement, InnoRNA will receive an upfront cash payment and will be eligible to receive additional payments based upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties, for the mRNA-LNP research collaboration programs. BeiGene will hold exclusive global development and commercialization rights for the mRNA-LNP therapies jointly discovered by InnoRNA and BeiGene.

InnoRNA will receive an additional upfront cash payment and is eligible for additional milestone payments for granting BeiGene non-exclusive license to its proprietary LNP Technology platform.

“We are very excited to partner with BeiGene to discover and develop innovative mRNA therapies as well as contribute our LNP technology to BeiGene’s internal research,” said Linxian Li, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of InnoRNA. “As evidenced by the success of multiple Covid-19 vaccines, mRNA and LNPs will likely play a major role in the future of drug development, potentially in broad fields beyond vaccines. Joining this collaboration with BeiGene represents a big step forward toward this vision for our company.”

About InnoRNA

InnoRNA is a platform-based biotechnology company focused on developing innovative mRNA and LNP technologies to produce therapeutic proteins rapidly and accurately in cells. Faced with the challenge of delivering mRNA into the right cells, the existing carriers have been unable to maximize the potential of mRNA as a therapeutic tool to generate disease-fighting proteins. InnoRNA developed the proprietary Diversity-Oriented LNP platform to deliver mRNA safely and effectively into the cell of interest. The commercialization of this innovation presents a revolutionary step towards delivering effective and safe clinical mRNA treatments for societies everywhere. For more information, please visit our website at www.innorna.com.

About BeiGene

BeiGene is a global, science-driven biotechnology company focused on developing innovative and affordable medicines to improve treatment outcomes and access for patients worldwide. With a broad portfolio of more than 40 clinical candidates, we are expediting development of our diverse pipeline of novel therapeutics through our own capabilities and collaborations. We are committed to radically improving access to medicines for two billion more people by 2030. BeiGene has a growing global team of over 8,000 colleagues across five continents. To learn more about BeiGene, please visit www.beigene.com and follow us on Twitter at @BeiGeneGlobal.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws, including statements regarding the plan of future development of mRNA therapies using the licensed technology; potential payments to InnoRNA, the potential of the licensed technology; and the parties’ commitments and the potential benefits of the collaboration, internal discovery and development plans and BeiGene’s plans, commitments, aspirations and goals under the heading “About BeiGene.” Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including BeiGene's ability to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of its drug candidates; the clinical results for its drug candidates, which may not support further development or marketing approval; actions of regulatory agencies, which may affect the initiation, timing and progress of clinical trials and marketing approval; BeiGene's ability to achieve commercial success for its marketed medicines and drug candidates, if approved; BeiGene's ability to obtain and maintain protection of intellectual property for its medicines and technology; BeiGene's reliance on third parties to conduct drug development, manufacturing and other services; BeiGene’s limited experience in obtaining regulatory approvals and commercializing pharmaceutical products and its ability to obtain additional funding for operations and to complete the development and commercialization of its drug candidates and achieve and maintain profitability; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on BeiGene’s clinical development, regulatory, commercial, manufacturing, and other operations, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in BeiGene’s most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in BeiGene's subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and BeiGene undertakes no duty to update such information unless required by law.