Brii Biosciences, a Hong Kong-listed biotechnology company with U.S. operations in Durham, North Carolina, announced on October 15, 2026 that it has launched BRiSC™ (Bispecific RNAi SilenCing), its in-house platform for discovering small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) medicines. The company says the platform’s signature feature is a molecular design that lets one siRNA drug silence two separate disease targets, and that metabolic disorders will be its first area of focus. Work on the platform is still at the discovery stage, and no clinical candidates have been named.
“BRiSC™ reflects our commitment to building differentiated scientific capabilities across multiple dimensions of siRNA therapeutic discovery and development,” said Dr. Brian Johns, Chief Scientific Officer of Brii Bio.
How the Platform Works
According to Brii Bio, BRiSC™ combines four technologies covering sequence optimization, chemical modification, dual-targeting architectures and targeted delivery. The company says these pieces are meant to improve how selective siRNA drugs are, how well they perform and how many diseases they can reach. The dual-targeting architecture is the core idea. Rather than pairing two drugs, Brii Bio aims to build a single siRNA therapeutic that knocks down two distinct targets in diseases driven by more than one biological pathway.
The platform grew out of the company’s own research build-out. Brii Bio says it has expanded its internal capabilities in target discovery, translational science and preclinical development. The company reports that BRiSC™ is already moving several internal discovery programs forward, though it did not disclose targets, indications or timelines.
Why Metabolic Disease Comes First
Brii Bio says it will start with common disease areas where complicated biology or overlapping conditions could benefit from hitting multiple targets at once, with metabolic dysfunction leading the list. Johns framed the platform around that problem: “Our dual-targeting platform exemplifies this approach by combining innovative molecular design with deep insights into disease biology to address conditions driven by multiple unique pathways. Our goal is to develop differentiated RNA therapeutics that can deliver broader and more meaningful benefits for patients,” he added.
The metabolic focus lines up with Johns’ own résumé. Before joining Brii Bio in January 2024, he was chief scientific officer of HemoShear Therapeutics, a Charlottesville, Virginia, company focused on drugs for metabolic disorders. Earlier, he spent years at GSK and ViiV Healthcare, where he was credited as a co-inventor of the HIV drug dolutegravir and co-directed the UNC HIV Cure Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
From Hepatitis B to a Broader RNA Pipeline
BRiSC™ is not Brii Bio’s first encounter with siRNA. The company’s best-known programs target chronic hepatitis B, and they include elebsiran, an investigational siRNA designed to reduce hepatitis B surface antigen. In its 2026 interim results in August, the company said it was continuing to build internal discovery capabilities and advance its RNA technology platforms alongside that clinical work.
The launch should be read as an early-stage milestone. In its filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Brii Bio cautioned that the platform and its internal programs are at various stages of research and development, and that it cannot guarantee the platform will produce viable drug candidates or that any will reach or complete clinical development.
About Brii Biosciences
Brii Biosciences Limited (“Brii Bio”, stock code: 2137.HK) is a biotechnology company developing therapies to improve patient health by addressing diseases with high unmet medical needs with limited treatment options. The Company is advancing a broad pipeline of differentiated therapeutic candidates, including internally discovered programs through its in-house RNA technology capabilities such as its proprietary BRiSC™ siRNA discovery platform. The Company is led by a visionary and experienced leadership team and has operations in China and the United States. For more information, visit www.briibio.com.
