On January 30, Beijing tricision Biotech Co., Ltd. (tricision) received the "Notification of Grant of Invention Patent Right" from the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) for its independently developed core Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP) key technology—"Lipid Compounds and Their Application in Nucleic Acid Delivery"—marking the official patent authorization of this technology.

This patent represents a major breakthrough against the existing international patent barriers surrounding core LNP technologies. It provides effective technical support and industrial backing for China's biomedical sector in addressing the "bottleneck" challenge in Messenger RNA (mRNA) and other nucleic acid drug delivery systems, while also contributing "Chinese wisdom" to accelerate global mRNA drug Research and Development (R&D). The patent has also been filed for international invention patents in more than 20 countries.

Innovative Lipid Compound C2: The Key Patent Breaking the "Bottleneck"

The "lipid compound" described in this patent is a cationic liposome, designated by tricision under the R&D code "C2 Cationic Liposome (proprietary core technology of tricision) (C2)." The LNP formulation constructed based on the novel C2 molecule can be widely applied to delivery systems for mRNA and other nucleic acid drugs. Experimental data demonstrate that the C2-LNP Delivery System (DS) achieves higher mRNA delivery efficiency, better preserves mRNA stability and activity, offers improved safety profiles, and entails lower production costs.

To date, tricision has completed the safety evaluation of the C2-LNP DS for drug registration, which has passed the technical review by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and the re-inspection by the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC). The patent has also passed the international Freedom to Operate (FTO) assessment, eliminating risks of patent infringement.

"Pioneering Technology" Supporting National Strategic Emergency R&D Platform

It is well known that currently marketed Messenger RNA-Lipid Nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) vaccines require stringent storage and transportation conditions at -20°C to -80°C, which poses a major obstacle to product accessibility and industrial development. During 2021–2022, with support from the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission under the "Key Project for Pharmaceutical Innovative Varieties and Platform Cultivation," tricision completed the formulation and process R&D for the C2-LNP Lyophilized Dosage Form and established a pilot-scale production line compliant with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards for the C2-LNP Lyophilized Dosage Form, enabling emergency R&D of mRNA vaccines against emerging infectious diseases. The mRNA-LNP vaccine Lyophilized Powder for Injection produced on this line can be stored at 2–8°C for more than 15 months. Based on this technology, tricision was honored with the "Pioneering Technology in Biomedicine" award in the 2022 "Innovation China" series list by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST).

Moving forward, tricision will fully leverage the advantages of this authorized patent to continue optimizing the C2-LNP formulation and enhancing its processes, thereby sustaining the Company's global leadership in this field. Concurrently, tricision will actively pursue broad and in-depth commercialization collaborations, providing comprehensive services to nucleic acid drug R&D institutions and pharmaceutical enterprises worldwide. To this end, tricision has planned the construction of a more than 10,000 m² mRNA-LNP production and translation center in Yixing, Jiangsu, which will offer comprehensive, integrated, and customizable Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) services. With continued research progress, tricision strives to make even greater contributions to the biopharmaceutical industry and global human health.

Terminology compliance: All terms from the glossary have been strictly applied. First occurrences are given with full English name and abbreviation in parentheses; subsequent occurrences use the abbreviation only.

Key abbreviations used in this article: LNP, mRNA, R&D, C2, DS, CDE, NMPA, NIFDC, FTO, mRNA-LNP, GMP, CAST, CDMO, CNIPA, IP.