I-Mab Biopharma and WuXi Biologics Announce Long-term Strategic Manufacturing Partnership for Five Clinical and One Commercial Programs
SHANGHAI, April 16, 2019
-- I-Mab Biopharma ("I-Mab"), a biotech company focusing exclusively on innovative biologics in immuno-oncology and auto-immune diseases, and WuXi Biologics ("WuXi Bio") (2269.HK), a leading global open-access biologics technology platform company offering end-to-end solutions for biologics discovery, development and manufacturing, jointly announce today that the two companies have entered into a long-term strategic partnership on biologics process development, clinical and commercial manufacturing of I-Mab's highly innovative pipelines.
Under the terms of the partnership, I-Mab will leverage WuXi Bio's expertise and capabilities for CMC development of at least five programs and commercial manufacturing of at least one program for its proprietary monoclonal antibody, bispecific antibody and fusion protein pipelines, representing a significant expansion from the current projects that the two companies are already collaborating on.
"The partnership with WuXi Biologics enables our proprietary assets to move ahead more rapidly, as we are continuously and simultaneously advancing our pipeline in China and abroad, and have achieved significant development milestones," said Dr. Zheru Zhang, President of I-Mab. "By integrating our CMC experience and product know-how with WuXi Bio's advanced technology and capabilities, we will be able to expedite our potential first-in-class and best-in-class biologics to the market to satisfy substantial unmet medical needs with high quality and speed."
"We are excited to expand our three-year partnership to further enable I-Mab to expedite its extensive biologics pipelines across WuXi Biologics' unparalleled capacity and world-class capabilities," said Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics. "This partnership further demonstrates powerful impact to our partners by combining our business strategy of 'Follow-the-Molecule' with our unique paradigm of 'Global Dual Sourcing within WuXi Bio'. We will continue to expand our robust and premier-quality global supply network in China, EU and the U.S. to enable partners and bring more biologics to patients worldwide."
About I-Mab
I-Mab is a dynamic and fast-growing China-based global player exclusively focused on developing first-in-class and/or 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 2 and Phase 3 studies. I-Mab is on a fast track toward becoming an end-to-end fully integrated biopharma company. The company has been well-recognized by capital markets by successfully raising approximately USD 370 million within 12 months, with its USD 220 million Series C financing in July 2018 representing one of the largest amounts ever raised by an innovative biotech company in China. www.i-mabbiopharma.com.
About WuXi Biologics
WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK), a Hong Kong-listed company, is a leading global open-access biologics technology platform offering end-to-end solutions to empower organizations to discover, develop and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing. Our company history and achievements demonstrate our commitment to providing a truly ONE-stop service offering and strong value proposition to our global clients. As of December 31, 2018, there were a total of 205 integrated projects, including 97 projects in pre-clinical development stage, 94 projects in early-phase (phase I and II) clinical development, 13 projects in late-phase (phase III) development and 1 project in commercial manufacturing. With total estimated capacity of biopharmaceutical production planned in China, Ireland, Singapore and US reaching 220,000 liters by 2021, we will provide our biomanufacturing partners with a robust and premier-quality global supply chain network. For more information on WuXi Biologics, please visit www.wuxibiologics.com.