Episode Details
Back to EpisodesWhy Western pharma is sleeping on China's circular RNA revolution
Description
RNA therapeutics has had its defining moments. Antisense oligonucleotides. siRNA. And then, of course, mRNA — which went from a niche academic curiosity to the backbone of a global vaccine program in a matter of months. The next chapter may be circular RNA.
CircRNA is more stable than linear mRNA, longer-lasting in the body, and potentially re-dosable. And one company has quietly built what may be the most advanced independent circRNA platform in the world — and with barely a single line of English-language press coverage, until now.
My guest today is Dr. Lu Gao, CEO of Therorna Inc., a clinical-stage biotech headquartered in Beijing and Shanghai. The company recently presented three posters at ASGCT in Boston, and their lead program has just entered a first-in-human trial. We're going to talk about the science, the clinical strategy, and why Western pharma hasn't paid enough attention to what's being built in China.
- 01:33 Meet Lu Gao and Therorna
- 09:29 How Therorna's approach differs
- 15:42 How TI-0032 reprograms T cells in the body
- 21:22 Off-the-shelf and re-dosable: what it means for patients
- 24:38 Why no Chinese biotech has landed a major in vivo deal
- 31:27 What a successful US IND clearance would mean
Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!
Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter
To dive deeper into the topic: