Nanfang Daily: GDD launches China’s first nucleic acid technology platform

An industrial technology platform on a class of nucleic acid drugs called Blockmir was launched in Guangzhou Development District on Aug 26.

The platform will develop original and innovative nucleic acid drugs in line with the "13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Bio-industry" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission.

Founded by the Sun Yat-sen University's (SYSU) Zhongshan School of Medicine and a research team led by Jesper Wengel, a professor at the University of Southern Denmark, the platform will be the first of its kind in China.

The actual controllers of all players in the world's ribonucleic acid (RNA) industry are non-Chinese, according to Tao Liang, deputy head of the Office of Scientific Research and Development at SYSU.

The drugs developed by the platform will fit Chinese people better, since the platform will focus its research and development on Asian people. Most nucleic acid drugs in the market target European users.

Tao said Blockmir drugs can achieve "precise attacks on disease" through their unique mechanisms, and have few side effects.

Almost all diseases, such as tumors, viral infections, immune system and metabolic diseases can be treated by Blockmir technology, said Ling Li, a professor at the university's School of Public Health.

"Guangzhou is an important biomedical innovation base in China, and the GDD is a key biomedicine and health industrial cluster with global influence," said a representative of the platform, adding that Guangzhou Science City and International Biological Island, which are the key bases of the national bio-industry, will help expand the city's presence in the sector.

A large number of experts and scholars from Sun Yat-sen University and Jinan University have joined and offered their support to the platform.

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