Novo Nordisk Research Centre China (NNRCC) and the innovation incubator ATLATL jointly announced the winners of the EntreStar program, a competition for China-based pharma start-ups. The winners were Hangzhou DNano MetaBio Technology and Modit Therapeutics both of which stand to receive RMB 500,000 (USD 71,550) and gain free access to ATLATL’s incubator sites across the country, as well as mentoring from relevant experts at Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO).
Winning Start-Ups and Their Innovations
Both firms are start-ups founded in 2022. Hangzhou DNano MetaBio Technology is described as focusing on the design of nucleic acid nanocarriers with customized functions “and great potential in clinical translation,” with internal capabilities in nucleic acid structure design, allowing accurate regulation of the organ-targeting ability and the on-demand drug release performance of nanocarriers.
Modit Medicine Inc., meanwhile, focuses on RNA editing and therapeutics. The company owns cutting-edge and proprietary RNA modification and editing methodologies and is devoted to the development of novel platform technologies. Instead of manipulating DNA sequences, Modit’s technology is capable of correcting genetic errors at the RNA level, with the expectation that safe and highly effective therapeutics for rare diseases, oncology, and other fields will emerge.
Background on NNRCC and ATLATL
Novo Nordisk set up the NNRC in 1997, the first research center to be established by an MNC in China, with a focus on protein and peptide therapeutic research. ATLATL, meanwhile, operates innovation incubators at pharma hub sites across China, including Shanghai, Beijing, and Suzhou. The firm states it also covers R&D assembly services for biotech companies, with specialist focus on gene and cell therapy, drug discovery, single-cell research, GMP implementation, animal disease models, as well as preclinical pharmacology and toxicology studies.-Fineline Info & Tech
