Rznomics (476830.KQ) shares rallied after the biotech firm won a decision to register its core patent on circular ribonucleic acid (RNA) in Canada and secured registration of a follow-on patent in Japan.
The stock traded at 25,800 won, up 10.26%, or 2,400 won, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange on the 21st. The company said the same day that its core patent covering a self-circularizing RNA construct had received a registration decision in Canada, while a follow-on patent improving circularization efficiency was registered in Japan.
Rznomics had previously registered the core patent in South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Australia. The Canadian decision expands the territories where the company holds overseas patent rights. Two follow-on patents have been registered domestically, and the Japanese registration is the first overseas. A company official said Rznomics is filing follow-on patents based on an evergreening strategy, a method of extending patent protection by filing additional applications ahead of the expiration of existing patents.
The company is developing self-circularizing technology built on its proprietary RNA trans-splicing platform. The approach forms circular RNA by exploiting complementary binding at both ends of an RNA strand. Circular RNA is a loop-shaped molecule created by joining the two ends of linear RNA, and its structure leaves no exposed terminals, which is known to make it relatively more stable than linear RNA.
The follow-on patent registered in Japan adds structural elements to the existing self-circularizing construct to raise circularization efficiency. It combines a structure that strengthens complementary binding at both RNA ends (AS/ABS) with a small protruding structure that adds flexibility at the RNA binding site (P1-bulge).
Rznomics also secured an additional domestic patent covering the base composition of target sites that affects circularization efficiency. A company official said the firm plans to expand the scope of intellectual property protection for its circular RNA platform by adding follow-on patents to the existing core patent.
