Roche's Genetech unit has agreed to pay $200 million upfront in exchange for a global license to an RNA interference programme from SanegeneBio, extending a run of high-profile partnerships for the RNA specialist.Details of the licensed asset were not disclosed, though SanegeneBio will handle early development work before handing the reins over to Genentech, which will subsequently lead all future clinical development and commercialisation activities.Besides the upfront payment, Roche is also on the hook for up to $1.5 billion in milestones plus eventual tiered royalties on product sales down road.Founded in 2021, SanegeneBio operates R&D hubs in Boston, as well as Shanghai and Suzhou in China. It banked $110 million in a series B round announced in December, backed by a syndicate of Chinese and international investors. The funding was earmarked to advance liver and cardiometabolic programmes toward registrational studies. The company's LEAD technology uses tailored enhancers and linkers to enable tissue-selective RNAi delivery.Late last year, it signed a global research and licensing collaboration with Eli Lilly focused on metabolic disease targets that could see the biotech pocket up to $1.2 billion in milestones.Meanwhile, Innovent Biologics, which also has operations in Suzhou, struck a deal in late 2023 for Asia rights to SanegeneBio's hypertension programme, SGB-3908, a Phase I siRNA therapy targeting angiotensinogen.As for Roche, it continues to broaden its footprint in the RNA space. The Swiss drugmaker struck a neuro-focused RNA exon editing collaboration with Ascidian Therapeutics in 2024 worth up to $1.8 billion, building on earlier RNA deals with Arrakis Therapeutics, Ribometrix, Shape Therapeutics and Remix Therapeutics.