NS Pharma, Inc. has announced that its parent company, Nippon Shinyaku Co., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, has entered into a joint research agreement with MiNA Therapeutics, headquartered in London, United Kingdom (UK), to develop nucleic acid drugs for the potential treatment of intractable and rare diseases of the central nervous system. The agreement was facilitated by the NS Pharma Innovation Research Partnering (IRP) team, located in the US.

Through this agreement, MiNA Therapeutics will provide Nippon Shinyaku RNAa therapeutics, which are oligonucleotides that can increase the transcription of a target gene. Nippon Shinyaku will have the right to exercise an option to exclusively research and develop pharmaceutical candidates derived from the alliance with MiNA Therapeutics by paying lump sum payments and milestones associated with the progress of research and development. After exercising the option, the company will pay milestones and royalties commensurate with the progress of the development and the sales of the product(s) after launch.

Nippon Shinyaku has been developing compounds in several therapeutic fields, including hematologic malignancies and intractable/orphan diseases.