SanegeneBio taps Orbit Discovery to generate targeting peptides for RNA therapies

Orbit provides services for the discovery of peptides and other small biologics out of a site in Oxford, UK. The offering includes services for affinity screening, functional screening, target production, and single cell reporter assays.

SanegeneBio, a biotech with technical operations in the US and China, has identified Orbit’s capabilities as a good fit for its push to develop small interfering RNA treatments capable of achieving durable silencing of disease-causing genes. Weimin Wang, CEO of SanegeneBio, explained the attraction of working with the drug discovery service provider.

“Orbit has developed an impressive platform technology that is ideal for our requirements. We selected Orbit as our discovery partner because of the team’s experience in overcoming peptide screening challenges alongside an industry-leading platform. We are confident that the combination of Orbit’s peptide discovery capabilities and our expertise in RNAi drug discovery and development will facilitate the accelerated entry of our therapeutics portfolio into the clinic​,” said Wang.

The master service agreement positions SanegeneBio to benefit from Orbit’s investment in technology to enable the screening of large libraries of peptides. Orbit uses a combination of DNA encoded libraries and bead-based presentation.

Through the peptide display engine, Orbit works to address soluble targets and targets in situ, both on and in cells. The approach is intended to accelerate the discovery times of relevant peptide leads based on affinity screens and/or functional screens. In the SanegeneBio alliance, Orbit will use the technology to generate specific targeting peptides.

The SanegeneBio deal adds to an “expanding portfolio of partners​,” according to Neil Butt, the CEO of the service provider, who set out his company’s objectives in a statement to disclose the agreement.

“Our aim is to make screening more relevant to the final biological read-outs, to ensure the right leads are selected first time, every time. This has the end goal of enabling the generation of future therapeutics with low toxicity and tissue specificity and ultimately, safer and more effective medicines​,” said the CEO.