AffaMed Therapeutics Announces Merger with EverInsight Therapeutics, Appoints Dr. Dayao Zhao as CEO

Shanghai, China, October 14, 2020. AffaMed Therapeutics (“AffaMed”), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative drugs to address critical unmet medical needs in the central nervous system and ophthalmology for patients in Greater China and worldwide, today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with EverInsight Therapeutics (“EverInsight”).

This merger will leverage the complementary strengths of both parties to expand AffaMed’s advanced product pipeline based on its existing assets, augment EverInsight’s pipeline of innovative drug candidates in the central nervous system (CNS) and ophthalmology sectors, and further enhance the combined company’s global R&D capabilities. The post-merger entity will retain the name AffaMed Therapeutics and will focus on developing ophthalmic and CNS drugs in Greater China and other regions. Both companies were incubated by Qiao Capital (formerly C-Bridge Capital) and have established collaborations and licensing agreements with leading global biopharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Zhao Dayao

Dr. Zhao Dayao has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the merged company and will join the board of directors upon completion of the merger. Mr. Fu Wei, CEO of Qiaoyi Capital, will serve as Chairman.

Chairman Fu Wei stated, “Under Dr. Zhao’s leadership, and with our high-caliber management team boasting deep expertise in global biopharmaceutical R&D, AffaMed Therapeutics is poised to become a globally leading biopharmaceutical company from China in the fields of ophthalmology and neurological and psychiatric disorders. We look forward to further enhancing our robust pipeline of drug candidates through the combined R&D capabilities post-merger, thereby creating synergies and value for our shareholders.”

Dr. Zhao Dayao stated, “EverInsight Therapeutics boasts a robust R&D team and product portfolio in the field of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including the neurosteroid nasal spray PH94B. PH94B has been licensed from VistaGen Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VTGN) for the acute treatment of social anxiety disorder in Greater China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, and is poised to enter Phase III clinical trials. Following this significant merger, AffaMed Therapeutics is set to become the preferred partner in Greater China for the development of ophthalmic and neurological/psychiatric drugs, taking the lead in efficiently introducing innovative technologies from other parts of the world into Greater China to address the high unmet medical needs in these two therapeutic areas.”

Dr. Zhao Dayao serves as the Chief Executive Officer of EverInsight Therapeutics, bringing decades of management experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Previously, Dr. Zhao was the CEO of Eucure (Youhe Pharma), where he built a top-tier clinical development team and implemented multiple clinical development projects globally. From 2016 to 2019, Dr. Zhao served as the General Manager of Pfizer’s China R&D Center, managing a team of 1,400 scientists based in Shanghai, Wuhan, and Beijing. He also led Pfizer’s China Development Team, with full responsibility for all clinical development projects in China supporting global markets. From 2011 to 2015, Dr. Zhao served as the Head of China R&D for Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceutical sector. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Zhao was Vice President of the Genzyme Corporation, leading Genzyme’s Japan-Asia Pacific R&D division, with comprehensive oversight of clinical development, pharmacovigilance, medical affairs, and regulatory affairs. Before joining Genzyme, Dr. Zhao spent over 12 years at Pfizer’s Global Research and Development headquarters, focusing on early-stage drug discovery and clinical development, and later led Novartis’s North American clinical development team for central nervous system drugs. Dr. Zhao earned his Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School and his M.D. from Peking University Health Science Center.

AffaMed currently boasts a robust ophthalmology product pipeline, including rights to biosimilars of Samsung Bioepis’s ranibizumab (Lucentis®) and aflibercept (Eylea®) in China and Singapore. AffaMed also holds exclusive negotiation rights for the Greater China region regarding GB-102, a pipeline drug from Graybug Vision (NASDAQ: GRAY). GB-102 is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor administered via intravitreal injection twice yearly, currently in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration.

In early October, AffaMed Therapeutics entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of KDT-3594, a Parkinson’s disease drug, in Greater China and Southeast Asian countries. Following the merger, the combined company will continue to in-license late-stage clinical development drugs, further expanding its product portfolio in ophthalmology and neurology/psychiatry.