Deals and Financings

Innovent Biologics, a four-year-old Suzhou biopharma, announced a very broad ten-year cross-border collaboration with Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) that includes as many as six potential biologic cancer treatments (see story). Lilly will make a $56 million upfront payment, with milestones for a single immuno-oncology drug candidate totaling $400 million. Further financial details were not disclosed. For Lilly, Innovent is a prize China collaboration. In its short four-year history, Innovent has built a $140 million facility (underwritten by Suzhou's BioBay Park) that is compliant with US/EU/China standards and raised $100 million in venture capital earlier this year. The company has developed a portfolio of ten biologic drug candidates, a combination of novel molecules and biosimilars. 

Vivo Capital, a US-China healthcare investment company, closed its eighth fund at $750 million (see story), which was two times Vivo's previous fund that raised $375 million three years ago. Vivo expects to invest in later development stage drug and device companies in the US and revenue-stage companies in China, with a focus on helping companies in both countries forge cross-border partnerships. Vivo, which has offices in Palo Alto, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, now has assets under management of over $1.7 billion. 

Zhejiang ChiMin Pharma (SHA: 603222) recently completed an IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, raising $47.4 million (see story). The company specializes in generic IV solution drugs. ChiMin has been designated a National Hi-Tech Company. The transaction shows that China's stock exchanges are not completely closed to life science initial public offerings, even though they seem to occur only infrequently. 

South Korea's Hanmi Pharmaceutical has out-licensed rights to its novel clinical-stage treatment for autoimmune diseases to Ely Lilly in exchange for $50 million upfront and a package of up to $640 million in milestones plus double-digit royalties (see story). Lilly will have global rights to the drug with the exception of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, which Hanmi will retain. Hanmi has a China subsidiary, Beijing Hanmi, a JV formed in 1996 for drug manufacturing and management of its China sales.

Jianshun Biosciences of Lanzhou signed an exclusive license to distribute Valneva's embryonic stem cell-based vaccine technology in China (see story). Valneva, a French company, developed EB66® cell line as a cell-based medium to manufacture vaccines. Valneva received a $2.7 million upfront payment and is entitled to further annual license fees and royalties. Jianshun will keep 50% of all sub-license revenue. The agreement allows the EB66® line to be used for human and animal viral vaccines, but excludes any flu vaccines. 

Trials and Approvals

ZAI Lab of Shanghai dosed the first subject in a Phase 1 study of ZL-2102, a novel anti-inflammatory drug, as a treatment for chronic respiratory diseases (see story). The trial is being conducted in Australia among healthy volunteers. ZAI Lab in-licensed global rights to two novel compounds from Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) last year, both of which are potential treatments for respiratory diseases. At the time, the drugs had already completed their pre-clinical development. ZL-2102 is the first to begin a clinical trial. 

Ascletis, a US-China pharma, said one of its two potential treatments for hepatitis C, ASC08, a direct acting antiviral agent that Ascletis in-licensed from Roche (SIX: ROG), produced positive results in a Phase II trial (see story). The trial enrolled Taiwanese patients. After 12 weeks of treatment, the SVR12 (sustained viral response) rate observed in genotype 1 non-cirrhotic Taiwanese patients was 94% and 100% in genotype 1b non-cirrhotic Taiwanese patients. Ascletis pointed out that Genotype 1b accounts for 98% of genotype 1 and 57% of all hepatitis C patients in mainland China. 

ASLAN Pharma of Singapore announced that its second in-licensed cancer drug, ASLAN002, was safe and well-tolerated in its initial Phase I trial (see story). ASLAN002 is a small-molecule dual inhibitor of the cMET receptor tyrosine kinase and RON immune checkpoint that ASLAN in-licensed from Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY). In addition, the company said ASLAN002 resulted in long-term stable disease and partial responses in specific tumor types. ASLAN plans to advance ASLAN002 into a Phase II trial in "highly selected" patients with gastric cancer in Asia Pacific centers. 

Yisheng Biopharma, a China vaccine company, began a Phase I clinical trial of a novel therapeutic rabies vaccine in Singapore (see story). The new vaccine uses a PIKA-based (stabilized double-stranded RNA) adjuvant that promotes both a humoral and cell-based response. As a result, Yisheng believes its rabies vaccine is more effective. The novel vaccine requires only three injections in seven days, as opposed to the usual regimen of five shots over 28 days. 

Disclosure: none.