Ranok Therapeutics

About Ranok Therapeutics

Ranok Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, founded in 2018, with dual headquarters in Hangzhou, China, and Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established by a team of industry veterans, including Founder and CEO Dr. Weiwen Ying, Co-founder and CSO Dr. Kevin P. Foley, and Co-founder Junlin Wang. Dr. Ying, the inventor of Ranok's core technology, has over 19 years of experience in medicinal chemistry and drug development, notably advancing the HSP90 inhibitor ganetespib to Phase 3 trials at Synta Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Foley contributes over two decades of expertise in drug discovery with a focus on cancer and a long-standing research interest in protein homeostasis.

The company's business model centers on the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for cancer and other serious diseases. This is achieved through its proprietary technology platform, CHAMP® (Chaperone-mediated Protein Degradation). The CHAMP® platform represents a distinct approach to targeted protein degradation (TPD), a field that aims to eliminate disease-causing proteins rather than just inhibiting them. Unlike more common TPD methods, CHAMP® leverages the body's natural cellular chaperone network, which regulates protein folding and stability. This approach is designed to selectively target disease tissues, potentially offering improved safety and efficacy and the ability to overcome drug resistance mechanisms.

Ranok Therapeutics generates value by advancing its pipeline of drug candidates through clinical trials, with the ultimate goal of commercialization. The company has successfully raised over $50 million in funding to support these efforts, including a $40 million Series B round in August 2021. Its first clinical-stage product is RNK05047, a BRD4-selective protein degrader for patients with advanced solid tumors and lymphomas. The U.S. FDA cleared its investigational new drug (IND) application, and Phase 1/2 trials are underway in both the U.S. and China. The company is also developing RNK08954, an oral inhibitor for KRAS G12D-mutated solid tumors. In a significant validation of its technology, Ranok entered into a research agreement with Pfizer in November 2021 to evaluate the CHAMP™ platform against an undisclosed cancer target.