Daiichi taps Nosis to deliver RNA therapies beyond the liver

By Nick Paul Taylor via Fierce Biotech

Daiichi Sankyo is stepping up its interest in RNA therapies, teaming with Nosis Biosciences to design drug candidates capable of reaching targets beyond the liver.

The Japanese drugmaker is best known for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), having secured deals with AstraZeneca and Merck & Co. and spawned the blockbuster Enhertu. But Daiichi has a long-standing interest in investing in new modalities to bolster its pipeline and expand beyond oncology. In April 2022, Daiichi listed (PDF) nucleic acids and mRNA in lipid nanoparticles (LNP) as part of its multi-modality plan.

Daiichi launched a LNP-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic and took an oligonucleotide drug candidate as far as phase 2 in Duchenne muscular dystrophy before axing (PDF) the asset in 2023. ADCs have remained the company’s bread and butter, though.

Partnering with Nosis gives Daiichi access to capabilities that could help establish RNA as its next major modality. California-based Nosis is built on Connexa, a platform designed to enable the delivery of RNA to any gene in any cell type. If Nosis is right, the platform can clear a major barrier to the therapeutic use of RNA by equipping companies to reach and silence targets outside of the liver.

Liver-directed therapies have shown the therapeutic potential of RNA but researchers have struggled to get molecules to targets in the heart, brain, lungs and kidneys, preventing people from silencing many genes that drive disease. Nosis has brought together AI-powered drug design, single-cell receptor biology and high-throughput chemistry to try to overcome the delivery problem.

Multiple companies, including the big names in RNA, have thrown resources at the same problem but are yet to prove they have effective solutions. Nosis is a long way from proving its platform—the biotech’s lead programs in lung and the central nervous system tissue are scheduled for IND-enabling studies in 2025—but Daiichi’s interest suggests it may be on the right track. 

Daiichi wasn’t the only partner that signed up with Nosis this morning. Johnson & Johnson pledged to ally its drug discovery and clinical expertise with the Connexa platform “to enable extra-hepatic therapeutic access to multiple and challenging cell types implicated in chronic disease.”