TriLink BioTechnologies, a Maravai LifeSciences company, has secured a second CleanCap patent in China, expanding its intellectual property protection around a technology widely used in mRNA and self-amplifying RNA applications.

 

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) granted TriLink patent No. ZL202511246658.5, titled “Compositions and Methods for Synthesizing 5'-Capped RNAs.” The grant comes just months after the company received its first recently announced CleanCap patent in China, underscoring TriLink’s push to strengthen its position in one of the world’s key markets for RNA medicines.

 

The new patent is distinct from and additive to Chinese Patent No. ZL202511246578.X, which covers methods for synthesizing capped RNA molecules. 

 

While the earlier patent protects the process, the latest patent covers the CleanCap cap analog compounds themselves, along with RNA molecules containing those compounds, cells containing such RNA molecules, and pharmaceutical compositions—including drug products—that incorporate CleanCap-capped RNA.

 

Together, the two patents establish layered protection covering both the process used to make CleanCap-capped RNA and the molecular structures at the heart of the technology.

 

"This new Chinese patent represents an important expansion of our CleanCap intellectual property position," said Bernd Brust, Chief Executive Officer of Maravai LifeSciences. "Where our first Chinese patent covers the methods of using CleanCap to produce capped RNA, this new patent covers the cap analog compounds themselves and the pharmaceutical compositions that incorporate them."

 

TriLink’s CleanCap intellectual property portfolio now spans major strategic markets, including the United States, European Union, Australia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Canada and China. The company is the sole authorized manufacturer of CleanCap cap analogs.

 

CleanCap technology has been used in commercially approved COVID-19 mRNA and saRNA vaccines and in drug-development programs spanning mRNA therapeutics, cancer vaccines, prophylactic vaccines, rare diseases, and cell and gene therapies.

 

The company says CleanCap’s capping efficiency, translational performance and innate immune evasion properties have established the technology as a leading platform for mRNA capping and an important enabling technology for RNA-based medicines.

 

"The granted claims in this patent reflect the deep scientific rigor our team applied in developing the CleanCap platform," said Chanfeng Zhao, Chief Scientific Officer of TriLink BioTechnologies. "We remain committed to advancing the science of mRNA capping, and we are proud that CleanCap continues to be the technology of choice for researchers and developers working on some of the most important medicines of our time."

 

TriLink also offers licensing opportunities to companies developing and commercializing mRNA-based products that use CleanCap technology. The company encourages organizations seeking licensed access to CleanCap and its supply chain to contact TriLink directly.