Technology Platform

Embracing Innovative Science to Unlock a Potential of Oligonucleotide
NapaJen’s drug delivery system (DDS) technology is the world’s first platform capable of selectively and efficiently delivering nucleic acids to target immune cells, unlocking the potential of oligonucleotide drugs for a range of immune-related therapeutic areas including immune disease, cancer, transplantation, and infectious disease.

Overview

Oligonucleotide drug development has generated great excitement as a therapeutic modality that uses nucleic acids such as RNA to impact disease causing processes within the body. However, the development of oligonucleotide drugs has been significantly limited by the challenge of safely and efficiently delivering nucleic acids to target organs and cells.

The NapaJen Solution
To address this challenge, NapaJen is developing proprietary oligonucleotide drugs by leveraging its unique DDS technology that is able to deliver nucleic acid-based drugs to target immune cells for the first time. NapaJen’s DDS technology is built upon schizophyllan (SPG), a beta-glucan that specifically binds to Dectin-1, a cell surface receptor expressed on antigen presenting immune cells, such as dendritic cells and macrophages. By complexing oligonucleotides with SPG, NapaJen’s delivery platform enables the efficient and selective delivery of oligonucleotides to cells playing key roles in regulating immune responses.

To date, the company’s DDS technology has demonstrated:
・Efficient delivery of oligonucleotide drugs to target cells
・Advantageous safety profile highlighted by demonstrated lack of toxicity at the highest dose evaluated in non-human primate studies, as well as ongoing first-in-human clinical trial