China-based Rona Therapeutics has granted pharma major Roche a global exclusive licence to its investigational ALK7-targeted RNAi programme, built on Rona's proprietary extrahepatic delivery platform, in a deal worth up to USD 1.16 billion including as much as USD 100 million in upfront and short-term milestone payments, up to USD 1.06 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, and tiered royalties on global net sales.

ALK7, encoded by ACVR1C, is mainly expressed in adipose tissue and represents a genetically validated obesity and metabolic-disease target, so directly silencing it in adipocytes could selectively reduce visceral and peripheral fat while preserving lean mass, a profile positioned as complementary rather than competitive to GLP-1 therapies.

The transaction fits a busy 2026 RNAi metabolic-deal cycle. In May, Shian Biotech's ALK7 siRNA was licensed to GSK in a transaction also exceeding USD 1 billion, showing big pharma is willing to pay nine-figure upfronts for extrahepatic siRNA assets that reach fat, muscle or other tissues beyond the liver.