I-Mab and CSPC Pharma Announce Strategic Partnership for Long-acting GLP-1 Fc Program

News provided by

Dec 17, 2018, 06:10 ET

SHANGHAI, Dec. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- I-Mab Biopharma ("I-Mab"), a China-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative biologics in immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (CSPC) (01093.HK), a leading pharmaceutical group in China, jointly announced a strategic partnership between the two companies. Under the partnership, I-Mab's will grant an exclusive license to CSPC to develop I-Mab's long-acting GLP-1 Fc program (TG103) in China.

Under the terms of the agreement, CSPC will pay a down payment 15 million RMB in order to be granted an exclusive license to conduct the clinical development and commercialization of TG103 in China. In addition, CSPC will pay I- Mab 135 million RMB based on further milestone payments as part of the royalties, contribute to the development costs and pay a percentage of sales. CSPC will have the exclusive rights to fund and execute.

TG103 is an innovative, long-acting recombinant glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) for which I-Mab has achieved IND approval as a Fc-fusion with extended half-life. TG103 enables once-weekly or bi-weekly subcutaneous administration, which can significantly improve convenience and as a result to improve patient treatment compliance. In preclinical studies, and the on-going Phase I trial conducted in Germany, TG103 demonstrated a good safety profile, providing opportunity for drug combination.

"I-Mab is very excited about our strategic partnership with such a strong and integrated pharmaceutical group like CSPC pharma. During the negotiation, we were highly impressed by CSPC's professional and innovative team," said Zheru Zhang, Ph.D., President of I-Mab, "I-Mab is a company dedicated to providing patients with innovative biological treatments among which TG103 is strikingly innovative and safe. We believe through the partnership with CSPC, we will bring TG103 to patients with type 2 diabetes and potential market in China more efficiently. This strategic partnership with CSPC represents our third out-licensing transaction with well-known global and Chinese biopharmaceutical companies since 2017. These deals are a strong testament to our partners' endorsement of I-Mab's proprietary R&D capabilities. We will continue to be open and pragmatic in looking for future partnership opportunities to bring innovative biologic therapies to market in an expedited manner to address acute unmet treatment needs in key disease areas."

"CSPC, one of the most innovative companies in China has a responsibility of improving mankind's health. We are very pleased to enter into this partnership with I-Mab which is a highly innovative biological company. We expect this strategic partnership will strengthen innovation of our pipeline. We hope we will significantly improve the treatment safety and quality of patients' life with exploring clinical trials and commercialization of TG103 in China, and we also look forward to more cooperation with I-Mab, " expressed by ChunLei Li, Ph.D., Executive Director, Executive President and Chief Scientist of CSPC.

About I-Mab

I-Mab is a dynamic and fast-growing global company exclusively focused on developing first-in-class and best-in-class biologics in the areas of immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases through internal R&D capabilities and global partnerships. I-Mab's pipeline is driven by the company's development strategy to address unmet needs in China and to bring innovative assets to the world. The company is prepared to submit additional INDs in order to initiate clinical trials in China and the U.S., including multiple Phase II and Phase III studies. I-Mab is on a fast track towards becoming an end-to-end fully integrated biopharma company. The company has been well-recognized by capital markets with the recent $220 million Series C financing representing one of the largest amounts ever raised by an innovative biotech company in China. www.i-mabbiopharma.com

About CSPC Pharma

CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (CSPC) was incorporated by Hebei Pharmaceutical Corporation, Shijiazhuang No. 1 Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. and other two companies in 1997. CSPC Pharma. currently boasts RMB 11.5 billion of assets in total, about 25,000 employees. CSPC is one of the largest pharmaceutical company listed in Hong Kong and one of the Hang Seng Red Chips Index Component stocks.

In 2008, CSPC., under the leadership and guidance of Ministry of Science and Technology, organized Technical Innovation League for Antibiotic Industry of China, and received the project supports of the national scientific supporting program. CSPC has set up 4 R&D centers in California, New Jersey and Texas, and more than 1700 employees and keeps investing 1.2 - 1.5 billion RMB on R&D per year. At present, CSPC has more than 200 innovative drugs, including 25 projects of biologics and Stem cell immunotherapy, 30 Small molecule drugs. Meanwhile, CSPC Pharma. has been engaged in improving the quality connotation by technology, and 6 pharmaceutical products (such as caffeine, vitamin C, VB12, amoxicillin, etc) have achieved COS certification of EU, and obtained a "passport" to the high-end markets in Europe and America.

Contact:

I-Mab:
Publica Relations:
Amanda Dai Associate Director of Public Relations
[email protected]

Business Development:
Weimin Tang Executive VP of Global BD
180 6628 5889
+1 (848) 667 3159(US)
[email protected]

Investor:
Jielun Zhu CFO
(86) 21 6057 5788
[email protected]

CSPC Pharma:
Media:
Heming Zhang Assistant President
[email protected]

Business Development:
Qingxi Wang Executive Director, Executive President
[email protected]

Investor:
Eddie Chak CFO
[email protected]

SOURCE I-Mab Biopharma