miRecule has signed a research collaboration with EM subsidiary Rio Biofarma Brasil (RBBL) to co-develop peptide-mediated delivery technologies aimed at improving targeted ribonucleic acid (RNA) therapeutics delivery to tissues beyond the liver and muscles in a range of disease areas.
The partnership is intended to jointly advance methods that address one of the main challenges for RNA medicines: delivering treatments to additional tissue types.
While existing RNA therapies have shown progress in liver and muscle targeting, other tissues remain difficult to reach.
The collaboration seeks to develop delivery approaches that could make RNA therapeutics available to a broader selection of tissues.
Under the agreement, miRecule’s NAVIgGator platform, which is used to design precision RNA medicines, will be combined with RBBL’s capabilities in peptide discovery, development, and manufacturing.
This partnership aims to generate peptide–RNA conjugates suitable for delivering RNA-based treatments to new target tissues. According to the companies, the technology developed through the collaboration will be jointly owned.
The agreement specifies that miRecule will develop oligonucleotide payloads for up to three targets while RBBL will be responsible for manufacturing the resultant products at its facility in Brazil.
Both companies have also outlined opportunities to expand the development of these products in international markets.
To support the advancement of both the collaboration and miRecule’s neuromuscular disease-focused assets, Rio Biofarma Brasil has also made an equity investment in miRecule. However, the financial terms of the collaboration have not been made public.
miRecule CEO Dr Anthony Saleh said: “Working alongside an organisation with the scale, scientific commitment, manufacturing expertise, and global reputation of EMS-RBBL strengthens our ability to bring transformative technologies closer to patients.
“We are excited about the potential of this collaboration to expand the reach of RNA therapies into challenging extra-hepatic tissue targets.”
