Deals and Financings

HitGen, a Chengdu small molecule discovery company, has been approved for a $97 million IPO on Shanghai's new Science and Technology Innovation Board (see story). HitGen has built a DNA-encoded library that contains nearly 400 billion novel, diverse, drug-like small molecule and macrocyclic compounds. The company is a partnering wonder, having formed more than 60 drug discovery partnerships with a collection of well-known China and global pharmas, including big pharma companies. It has also developed its own portfolio of 20 candidates for various cancer, cardiovascular, inflammatory and metabolic indications.

Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences is expected to be one of the first IPOs on Shanghai's new STAR Board for young technology companies (see story). STAR IPOs are expected to begin next week. Chipscreen specializes in discovering and developing novel small molecule drugs for needs in oncology, metabolic disease and autoimmune disease. Unlike many STAR IPO companies, Chipscreen is profitable. In 2015, its cancer drug, Chidamide, was launched in China to treat NHL T-Cell lymphoma. It is currently being tested for US approval. The company currently has 14 research projects underway.

Alphamab Oncology, which was spun out of Suzhou Alphamab last year, was approved to IPO in Hong Kong under the Exchange's pre-revenue rules (see story). The bi-specifics company has eight oncology molecules in development, four of them in clinical trials, and will use the IPO proceeds to support clinical development of its portfolio. Alphamab expects KNO46, potentially a first-in-class bispecific antibody against CTLA-4 and PD-1, to be fast-tracked towards China approval for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in 2022. It is currently in a Phase Ib/II trial.

India's Cipla (BSE: 500087) formed a $30 million joint venture with Jiangsu Acebright Pharma to bring Cipla's generic drugs to the China market (see story). Cipla will contribute 80% of the JV's capital and own 80% of the JV, which will also establish a manufacturing facility for Cipla's respiratory products in China. Cipla, which is active in many global markets, is India's third largest pharma. One month ago, in a similar India-China agreement, Sun Pharma of India forged a deal with China Medical System Holdings to develop and commercialize two drugs in Greater China.

Chengdu New Radiomedicine Technology raised $14 million in a funding round led by BTG Asia, a subsidiary of London healthcare investor BTG plc (LSE: BTG) (see story). BTG, which contributed $11 million to the round, said it will collaborate with CNRT to develop its TheraSphere® nuclear cancer treatment in China. CNRT provides medical isotopes for tumor diagnosis and treatment. In 2013, BRT paid $200 million to acquire the TheraSphere technology, which is approved to treat hepatocellular carcinoma in many countries. Earlier this year, CNRT completed Phase I construction of its pilot plant.

Shanghai's Abbisko Therapeutics acquired Greater China rights to a chemokine receptor inhibitor from X4 (NSDQ: XFOR), a Boston biotech, to treat the side effects of Abbisko's immune therapy (see story). X4's mavorixafor decreases turmor-based immuno-suppressive cells, which are elevated by Abbisko’s immune therapy, a CSF1R inhibitor. Abbisko plans to test the combination therapy in patients with triple-negative breast, pancreatic and ovarian cancers, which are thought to be resistant to checkpoint inhibitors due to their high counts of immuno-suppressive cells.

Celltrion of South Korean will form a JV with Nan Fung Group, a Hong Kong investment firm, to develop and commercialize three Celltrion biosimilars in China (see story). The JV, named Vcell Healthcare, will develop Celltrion biosimilars for major biologic products: Remicade, Rituxan and Herceptin. Each of the three biosimilars have been accepted for use in the US and EU, and Celltrion has already started China trials on the Remicade and Herceptin biosimilars. Vcell also plans to build a biologics facility to manufacture the products in China. Celltrion develops biosimilars and novel biologic drugs.

EdiGene, a Beijing biopharma using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and high throughput genetic screening to discover drug targets, sold its library of knockout (KO) cell lines to Abcam, a Cambridge, UK research tools company (see story). With its gene editing technology, EdiGene has developed a library of over 2,800 single clonal KO cell lines that target 2,600 genes in commonly used human cancer cell lines. The lines are used to validate antibodies and to understand biological pathways and disease models. EdiGene plans to concentrate on its near-clinical stage drug candidates. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Harbour Antibodies, the Dutch drug discovery subsidiary of Harbour BioMed, partnered with Boston's Abveris to offer its fully-human antibody discovery services together with Abveris' therapeutic antibody discovery services (see story). Under a Co-Offering Agreement, Averis will be able to offer clients a low-upfront evaluation fee and pre-negotiated commercial terms. This will allow Abveris clients to consider the Harbour's H2L2 human transgenic mouse technology before committing to a commercial license. Headquartered in Boston, Harbour Bio has operations in Shanghai and Suzhou.

Shanghai Fosun Long March Medical Science struck a deal to bring the Nu.Q(TM) diagnostic platform developed by Belgium's VolitionRx (NYSE AM: VNRX) to China (see story). The two companies have already started a China clinical trial of a lung cancer diagnostic as the first application. Fosun Long March is the investment platform of the in-vitro diagnostics division of Fosun Pharma (SHA: 600196; HK: 2196). In a China trial expected to be completed this year, Fosun Long March is collecting and testing blood samples using Volition's Nu.Q assays.

Company News

GenScript Biotech, a biologics CDMO, has completed construction of its R&D and production center in Nanjing (see story). When fully operational, the center will offer a full end-to-end suite of biological services, starting with pre-clinical research, and continuing into commercial production. The company's biologics GMP production center, which is expected to start production in 2020, will have 2,600 liters of capacity, enough for Phase I and II clinical supply. GenScript has a well-established global business that supplies custom synthesized genes for research.

Trials and Approvals

I-Mab Biopharma of Shanghai announced China approval to begin Phase I trials of its fully human CD47 mAb, which was developed to treat malignant tumors (see story). Earlier this year, I-Mab was granted a similar approval in the US and reported the first patient dosing in June. I-Mab believes TJC4 has the potential to become a global best-in-class CD47 product because it binds to a unique epitope on CD47. This leads to minimal red blood cell binding, which allowed the molecule to avoid hemagglutination and anemia in preclinical tests.

Ascentage Pharma, a Suzhou specialist in apoptosis drugs, has started China clinical trials of its novel Bcl-2 selective inhibitor in patients with hematologic malignancies (see story). One year ago, the company began trials of APG-2575 in the US and Australia. An oral drug, APG-2575 is designed to treat hematologic malignancies by blocking Bcl-2 to restore the normal apoptosis process in cancer cells. The company says its candidate is the first Bcl-2 inhibitor to start China trials and will be tested in combination trials.

Disclosure: none.