January 12, 2026 · San Francisco, USA , the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (hereinafter referred to as the "JPM Conference") kicked off grandly. Beijing Youngen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Youngen"), a leading innovative Chinese pharmaceutical company, was invited to attend the event. At the concurrent "2026 China FIC Innovation & Collaboration Forum", the company delivered a keynote speech titled The Rising Power of China in RNAi Therapeutics, systematically elaborating on the development landscape, industrial advantages and global opportunities of China’s nucleic acid therapeutics sector. Youngen also officially launched its proprietary Kardia Shuttle™ nucleic acid heart-targeted delivery platform technology, which attracted significant attention from the global industry.
As a bellwether for global biopharmaceutical innovation, the JPM Conference serves as a barometer for industry trends. The launch of this platform not only showcases Youngen’s concentrated technological strength, but also marks a pivotal step for China’s RNA therapeutics innovation to expand its global footprint. Currently, extrahepatic delivery of nucleic acid drugs has emerged as a new frontier of industrial competition, while the field of cardiac targeting remains a global uncharted territory. The introduction of the Kardia Shuttle™ platform has not only established a core technological barrier for Youngen, but is also expected to drive China’s leap from a follower to a leader in the global nucleic acid delivery landscape.
Hailed as the third generation of therapeutic agents, nucleic acid drugs are emerging as a crucial focus of global novel drug research and development, thanks to their distinctive advantages such as high specificity, long-acting efficacy, and the ability to target traditional undruggable targets. To date, all globally approved siRNA drugs are concentrated in hepatic targeting, and extrahepatic delivery—particularly cardiac targeting—remains an urgent technological bottleneck that the industry is striving to overcome. China has evolved into the world’s second-largest market for nucleic acid drug R&D, boasting a leading global position in terms of the number of investigational pipelines and breakthrough therapy designations. The nation is accelerating its transformation from a follower to a pioneer in this arena.
The rise of China’s nucleic acid therapeutics industry is underpinned by multiple competitive strengths:First, sustained policy support and capital investment have fostered a complete industrial chain covering early-stage R&D, clinical development and manufacturing. Second, the country is home to a cluster of biotech firms focused on technological innovation with a global perspective, which have achieved independent breakthroughs in key segments such as delivery technologies and target discovery. Third, the substantial clinical demand and large patient population provide abundant application scenarios and robust data support for innovative drug development.
In addition, Chinese companies have become increasingly active in out-licensing activities, emerging as important technology exporters and partners in the global nucleic acid therapeutics landscape. This has driven the optimal allocation of global R&D resources and accelerated the pace of innovation across the sector.
Against this backdrop, Youngen has focused on the heart—a key extrahepatic targeting area—and successfully developed the Kardia Shuttle™ platform. Leveraging the TA-SEEK™ AI large model, the platform has identified the world’s first target with high specific expression on the surface of myocardial cell membranes, enabling the precise and targeted delivery of multiple therapeutics including siRNA and ASO to cardiac tissues. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that its targeting efficiency, bioactivity and durability are either superior to or comparable with GalNAc—the current gold-standard technology for hepatic targeting. Moreover, the platform has completed efficacy validation across species ranging from mice to large animals, marking a significant step forward in the practical application of heart-targeted siRNA therapies.
With this platform, Youngen has not only filled the global gap in heart-targeted siRNA therapeutics, but also demonstrated the capability of Chinese innovative biopharmaceutical companies to tackle challenges in cutting-edge technologies and their competitiveness on the global stage. The company has established a comprehensive development system, and its first heart-targeted drug candidate has entered a critical stage of development.
International collaboration serves as a vital engine driving the development of the global innovative pharmaceutical industry. Through multi-dimensional cooperation models such as technology licensing, co-development and market access, China’s innovative biopharmaceutical companies can accelerate R&D progress, reduce global development costs, and deliver more accessible treatment options to patients worldwide. Youngen’s debut at this year’s JPM Conference is a vivid testament to the integration of China’s innovative forces into the global R&D ecosystem, as well as their active participation in international competition and collaboration.
Looking ahead, Youngen will continue to advance the development of innovative platforms represented by Kardia Shuttle™, expand the pipeline to cover more heart-related indications, and accelerate clinical translation through open collaboration. The company is committed to providing more precise and long-acting treatment regimens for cardiovascular disease patients across the globe, and to helping China secure a leading position in the global nucleic acid therapeutics innovation wave.
