Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, will apply SanegeneBio’s RNA interference (RNAi) platform to develop one of the company’s RNAi programs through a global licensing agreement that could generate up to $1.5 billion for the Chinese biotech.
Under the agreement, SanegeneBio has granted Genentech exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize the undisclosed program. SanegeneBio agreed to oversee early development activities while Genentech agreed to lead all future clinical development and commercialization activities.
Genentech has agreed to pay SanegeneBio $200 million upfront as well as up to $1.5 billion in payments tied to achieving development and commercialization milestones, plus tiered royalties.
“Entering into this agreement with Genentech marks another important milestone for our innovative and differentiated RNAi chemistry and delivery platforms,” Weimin Wang, PhD, SanegeneBio’s founder and CEO, said in a statement. “We are delighted to work with a global scientific leader to continue delivering effective and life-changing therapies for patients worldwide.”
SanegeneBio’s pipeline posted on its website discloses 20 programs, the fifth of which entered the clinic just last month, when the company dosed the first patient with SGB-7342 at the first hospital of Jilin University in China in a Phase I trial (NCT07324850). SGB-7342 is a GalNAc-conjugated small interfering RNA (siRNA) candidate being developed to treat obesity by targeting Inhibin Beta E (INHBE) messenger RNA (mRNA) in hepatocytes.
SGB-7342 is designed to silence the INHBE gene through an RNAi mechanism, thereby reducing circulating Activin E levels and inhibiting downstream signaling pathways involved in lipid metabolism and energy expenditure.
Also in the clinic for SanegeneBio are SGB-3908, a Phase I hypertension candidate targeting angiotensinogen (AGT) mRNA in the liver and partnered with Innovent Biologics; two Phase I programs of SGB-3383, which targets CFB in the liver, one each in atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH); and three Phase II programs of SGB-9768, which targets complement C3 in the liver, and is being developed separately for IgA nephropathy (IgAN), Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), and Immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN).
SGB-9768 generated positive data in two Phase I studies, Study 001 conducted in New Zealand and Study 002 conducted in China, according to a poster presentation at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2025 in November. In Study 001, a single dose of 400 mg achieved a maximum reduction from baseline of 86.8% in serum C3 and 100% inhibition of alternative pathway (AP) activity at approximately Week 4 and was maintained through Week 24. In Study 002, a single dose of 600 mg achieved a maximum reduction from baseline of 96.3% in serum C3 and 100% inhibition of AP activity at approximately Week 4 and was maintained through Week 24.
SGB-3908 showed sustained AGT inhibition, and preliminary antihypertensive effects in both healthy subjects and patients with mild hypertension, strongly supporting its subsequent clinical development, according to preliminary results from a first-in-human Phase I trial (NCT06501586) presented by Fangfang Wang, MD, of Peking University Third Hospital at the 2025 American Heart Association (AHA) scientific sessions, and announced in November by SanegeneBio and Innovent.
The following month, SanegeneBio closed on a Series B financing round in which it raised more than $110 million. The company said it would use proceeds from the financing to advance its clinical stage assets towards registrational studies and accelerate the development of programs across several therapeutic areas.
SanegeneBio said an undisclosed “well-known industrial investor” led the financing, with participation from an international sovereign wealth fund, Sino Biopharm, Legend Capital, Vivo Capital, Invus, SymBiosis, Guofa Capital, TruMed, and Lake Bleu Capital; as well as a strategic investment from Eli Lilly and continued support from existing shareholders including Qiming Venture Partners, K2 Venture Partners, TF Capital, Oriza Holdings, Northern Light Venture Capital, among others.
