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Week in Review: Fosun Pharma Acquires Brain Cancer Immunotherapy in $148 Million Deal

publication date: Nov 23, 2019
 | 
author/source: Richard Daverman, PhD

Deals and Financings

Shanghai Fosun Pharma (SHA: 600196; HK: 2196) announced a $148 million agreement to acquire China rights to SurVaxM, a novel immunotherapy aimed at glioblastoma, from MimiVax of Buffalo, New York (see story). SurVaxM, a novel peptide mimic vaccine, stimulates the immune system to kill tumor cells that contain survivin, a protein that helps cancer cells resist conventional treatments. In a US Phase II trial among glioblastoma patients, SurVaxM showed improved efficacy combined with an acceptable safety profile. MimiVax, which notes that survivin is present in many cancers, is also conducting a multiple myeloma trial.

Suzhou's BrightGene Bio-Medical (SHA: 688166) completed a $74 million IPO on the Shanghai Star Exchange and climbed 141% higher in its first trading session, giving the company a market capitalization of $1.8 billion (see story). Founded in 2001, BrightGene develops novel drugs as well as hard-to-make generics, APIs and finished drugs. The company is developing immunoncology treatments, oral GLP-1RA peptides for type 2 diabetes, antibody drug conjugates for solid tumors, and novel non-antibody dependent tumor targeting conjugates for brain cancer and solid tumor brain-metastases.

Lansion Biotechnology of Nanjing completed a $14 million Series C funding led by Matrix Partners China with participation from Bondshine Capital to expand its IVD reagent and medical device operations (see story). Founded in 2016, Lansionbio claims it has overcome the technical barrier of active microfluidics, developing a rapid immune diagnostic platform, a handheld electrochemical clotting platform and a nucleic acid automatic rapid diagnostic platform. The company believes its handheld point-of-care testing chemiluminescence devices, which have batch-to-batch differences of less than 5%, are comparable in accuracy to much larger machines.

3SBio (HK: 1530) of Shenyang selected the first immunoncology candidate to develop in greater China from its partnership with Boston's Verseau Therapeutics, a company developing macrophage checkpoint modulators (MCMs) (see story). VTX-0811 targets PSGL-1, an adhesion molecule highly expressed on tumor-associated macrophages in most tumor types. Verseau says PSGL-1 antibodies cause a bigger inflammatory response than current immunotherapies. 3SBio acquired rights to several Verseau candidates by investing $15 million in Verseau's $50 million funding last month.

GenScript Biologics (HK: 1548), a Nanjing global biopharma CDMO, will partner with ABL Bio (KQ: 298380) of South Korea to develop two bispecific antibodies using GenScript technology (see story). GenScript will grant a sublicense to ABL Bio to use its sdAb (single-domain antibody), mAb (monoclonal antibody) targeting tumor antigens, and its Single-Domain Antibody fused to Monoclonal Ab (SMAB) Platform. In addition, GenScript will supply CDMO services to ABL for IND-enabling studies and clinical trial manufacturing of the immunotherapies. GenScript will receive upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties, though details were not provided.

Brii Biosciences, a Shanghai-US anti-infectives company, announced partnerships that add up to seven new compounds to its portfolio, raising its total to twelve in-licensed infectious disease products aimed at China's market (see story). Brii will advance the candidates from clinical proof-of-concept through to commercialization. The new products include a TB treatment from AN2 of Menlo Park, CA; a group of treatments for drug resistant, gram-negative pathogens from Qpex Biopharma of San Diego, CA; and up to three programs from Artizan of New Haven, CT that address inflammatory disease-causing bugs in the gut.

Fosun Kite Biotech of Shanghai formed an alliance with Phanes Therapeutics, a San Diego-Guangdong biotech, to develop Phanes' CAR-T candidates in greater China for solid tumors (see story). Phase will provide Fosun Kite with several of Phanes' high-affinity humanized antibodies that target two novel cancer antigens. Phanes is eligible for upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties on China sales. In addition to China rights, Fosun Kite will also have First Negotiation Rights for global ex-China commercialization of the antibodies.

Company News

Novartis (NYSE: NVS) plans big changes to its large Shanghai research institute, refocusing the facility on drug development rather than drug discovery (see story). According to a company official, the China facility has been successful at discovering drug candidates, but after "China's explosion of talent," Novartis needs development services, for molecules discovered both in and out of China. The company plans to file 50 new drug applications in China, and it will also strengthen its business development team as it builds relationships with young China biopharmas.

Ascentage Pharma (HK: 6855) has broken ground on its 95 acre corporate campus, a combined global headquarters, R&D center and manufacturing facility, in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) (see story). The company says the new R&D center will house an expanded research team to drive discovery of new targeted drug candidates for its pipeline; enhance its research capabilities in translational medicine, biomarkers and clinical pharmacology; and boost the success rate of its drug development programs. The manufacturing facility will be built to comply with global cGMP standards and bring its products to global markets.

Trials and Approvals

CStone Pharma (HK: 2616) has dosed the first patient in a China Phase I bridging trial of ivosidenib (Tibsovo®) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (see story). Developed by Agios (NSDQ: AGIO), ivosidenib was approved in the US in July 2018 to treat adult patients with relapsed/refractory AML with a susceptible IDH1 mutation, using a biomarker to test for the mutation. Earlier this year, CStone submitted an NDA for ivosidenib in Taiwan. The new China trial will assess the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of ivosidenib in patients with IDH1 mutant R/R AML.

Clover Biopharma, a Chengdu global clinical-stage biotech, started an Australian Phase I trial of SCB-313 in cancer patients with malignant pleural effusions (MPE) (see story). SCB-313, a fully-human TRAIL-Trimer fusion protein, is being tested in five clinical studies in China and Australia. The trials are enrolling patients in three oncology indications -- malignant ascites, peritoneal carcinomatosis, and malignant pleural effusions. MPE is the abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity in cancer patients, especially from lung cancer, indicating the presence of cancer cells in the cavity.

Disclosure: none.

 


 

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