Rznomics Inc., a new drug development company, will select Samsung Securities as the leading underwriter for listing for an IPO. The company  plans to list on the KOSDAQ after major pipelines enter clinical trials in Korea and the US.

Rznomics is an RNA-based gene therapy company established in August 2017 by Professor Lee Seong-wook of Dankook University. Their main platform is a therapeutic technology with a mechanism of editing a disease-causing target RNA with an RNA replacement enzyme (trans-splicing ribozyme) and generating a therapeutic RNA in its place. It is characterized by being able to access incurable diseases that were previously inaccessible by differentiating its mechanism of action from existing treatments.

The company’s RNA-substituting enzyme-based pipeline is a treatment for liver cancer (RZ-001), glioblastoma (RZ-002), Alzheimer's disease (RZ-003), and hereditary retinitis pigmentosa (RZ-004). RZ-001 is currently in the final stages of GMP production and GLP toxicity studies, and plans to apply for IND in Korea and the United States in the fourth quarter of 2021 to enter clinical trials from next year.

The company said, "We held a pre-IND meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and received very positive responses about the R&D results and future plans."

RZ-004 has recently selected a candidate material and is expected to start production soon. The goal is to apply for an IND to the US FDA and enter clinical trials in the first quarter of 2023.

Rznomics is trying to pioneer new RNA technology, including expanded indications. To this end, a new platform team was recently established in the company-affiliated research institute, and an external RNA expert was recruited and a new RNA platform development based on RNA substitution technology began. It is a field that can be applied to various indications, such as RNA vaccines and expression constructs for next-generation gene therapy products.

It is also continuing its business partnerships with domestic and foreign institutions. Last year, a license agreement was signed with german company CEVEC, for the use of cell line technology, and a CDMO contract for the production of RZ-001 was also signed with US based company, Vigene. They have signed a license for hereditary retinitis pigmentosa disease animal model with Baylor University in the United States, and signed a contract with the University of Louisville to collaborate on RZ-004's efficacy experiments in large animals. Recently, it joined hands with GC Biopharma and MOGAM Institute for Biomedical Research to jointly develop a treatment for intractable diseases based on a next-generation RNA platform.

Major financial investors include Synergy IB Investment, Quad Asset Management, Korea Development Bank, SBI Investment, LSK Investment, Partners Investment, and eBest Investment & Securities.

In October 2019, the company received investment of 12 billion KRW in the Series A round, and in March, it attracted a Series B investment of 10.5 billion KRW. About 2.5 billion KRW was received through the selection of government support projects.