Did you know?

ChinaBio® Group is a consulting and advisory firm helping life science companies and investors achieve success in China. ChinaBio works with U.S., European and APAC companies and investors seeking partnerships, acquisitions, novel technologies and funding in China.  

Learn more >>

Free Newsletter

Have the latest stories on China's life science industry delivered to your inbox daily or weekly - free!

  Email address:
   

Week in Review: Hengrui Out-licenses Cancer Drug in $795 Million Deal

publication date: Sep 5, 2015
 | 
author/source: Richard Daverman, PhD

Deals and Financings

Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (SHA: 600276) out-licensed global rights (ex-China) for its clinical-stage anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody to Incyte (NSDQ: INCY) in a deal potentially worth $795 million (see story). Incyte paid $25 million upfront. Hengrui's SHR-1210 is expected to start a China Phase II trial in patients with solid tumor cancers in the next few months. Hengrui will retain rights in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Incyte, headquartered in Delaware, described the relationship as a combination of licensing and collaboration. 

Ascletis Pharma, a Hangzhou clinical-stage novel biotech, raised $35 million in a funding led by C-Bridge Capital and joined by Tasly Pharma and Singapore-based Pavilion Capital (see story). The pre-money valuation of Ascletis was $300 million. Ascletis was founded in 2011 with $100 million in startup capital. Ascletis said it would use the proceeds to expand its pipeline, which currently stands at four in-licensed candidates, plus increase its global drug development capability and GMP commercial manufacturing. 

After a short eighteen months as a publicly owned company, iKang Healthcare (NSDQ: KANG)  is considering a go-private offer from a group led by its Founder/Chairman/CEO (see story). iKang, headquartered in Beijing, operates private preventative healthcare clinics throughout China. The company raised $153 million in an IPO on the NASDAQ exchange in April 2014. Now, Mr. Ligang Zhang, the company's CRO, together with FountainVest, a China private equity firm, proposes to take the company private at $17.80 per ADS, a modest 10.8% premium from the most recent close and a 27% increase from the $14/ADS IPO price. The offer values iKang at $1.1 billion. 

Celyad SA (Euronext: CYAD), a Belgium cell therapy company, announced an altered China collaboration with Medisun International of Hong Kong for greater China registration and distribution of  C-Cure® (see story). C-Cure is a stem cell-based treatment for ischemic heart failure that was developed by Mayo Clinic and licensed by Celyad. Medisun agreed to invest at least $22 million to register the treatment in China. The agreement was originally announced one year ago; now, the two entities have altered its terms. 

Trials and Approvals

Hutchison MediPharma, a division of Chi-Med, (AIM: HCM) reported that fruquintinib met its primary endpoint in a second proof-of-concept China trial, this time as a treatment for advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (see story). The company said fruquintinib "clearly" met its primary endpoint of  progression-free survival, though specific data are being held for a scientific meeting. In 2013, Hutchison out-licensed China rights for the drug to Lilly (NYSE: LLY). In May, the first proof-of-concept trial triggered two payments from Lilly to HMP totaling $18 million. 

Ascletis Pharma, a Hangzhou clinical stage biopharma, has been approved to begin a Phase II trial in Taiwan of its dual-drug, interferon-free treatment for chronic hepatitis C (see story). The regimen consists of two Ascletis direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) that will be administered for 12 weeks. "We expect the dual drug regimen will be comparable to Gilead's (NSDQ: GILD) Harvoni in efficacy and safety," Dr. Jinzi Wu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ascletis, told ChinaBio® Today in an exclusive interview. "But because we are a China company, our regimen will be more affordable." 

MicuRx Pharma, a US-China antibiotics company, announced positive data from a China Phase II clinical trial of MRX-1, the company's lead drug candidate (see story). MRX-1 is an oral oxazolidinone antibiotic aimed at effective treatment of drug-resistant bacteria without the myelosuppression that is typical in other oxazolidinone antibiotics. MicuRx is also conducting a Phase II trial of the antibiotic in the US, whose results are expected in late 2015. 

Government and Regulatory

The China Food and Drug Administration is making good on its promise to speed up the drug approval process: it has posted a notice seeking to recruit an additional 69 people to review drug approval submissions (see story). If they all are hired, it would represent an almost 50% increase in staffing. In May, China's State Council told the CFDA's Center for Drug Evaluation the 21,000+ application backlog must not grow larger in 2016, and the entire backlog must be dealt with by 2018. 

Industry Insights

In the competition between China and India pharmas, China's generic drug industry leads in the supply of APIs to global drugmakers, but India supplies more finished generic drugs to the world's marketplace. That may be changing. According to press reports, China drugmakers have begun hiring experienced Indian pharma execs, offering them two to three times their present salaries (see story). The China companies are willing to pay at these levels because the Indian professionals have two skills the Chinese want: drug formulation experience and English. China's drugmakers want help as they target the western world's lucrative generic drug market. 

Disclosure: none.


 

Share this with colleagues:

 

ChinaBio® News

Greg Scott BIO-Europe Interview
Greg Scott Interviewed at BIO-Europe Spring

How to bring your China assets to China in 8 minutes


Greg Scott Mendelspod Interview
"Mr. Bio in China."
Mendelspod Interview

Multinational pharma held to a higher standard in China

Partner Event
November 2-3, 2023 | Shanghai
November 7-8, 2023 | Digital