Origin Medical Announces Global Exclusive Licensing Agreement for Its Bispecific Antibody with Over $142M in Milestone Payments

On June 16, 2020, Shanghai Yuaneng Cell Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yuaneng Medicine”) announced that it had entered into a collaboration with a multinational innovative pharmaceutical company, signing an exclusive license agreement for an innovative tumor-targeting bispecific antibody drug developed by Yuaneng Medicine that is currently in the preclinical development stage. The agreement stipulates that the pharmaceutical company will hold the rights to globally develop and commercialize the bispecific antibody. Based on the progress of clinical trials and regulatory registration, Yuaneng Medicine estimates that it will receive up to $142 million in upfront and milestone payments, as well as a share of the product’s annual sales revenue.

This bispecific antibody product is a next-generation immune checkpoint antibody drug, composed of an immune checkpoint inhibitor antibody and an immune checkpoint agonist antibody linked via genetic engineering. It can simultaneously activate two complementary mechanisms—“releasing the brakes” and “pressing the accelerator”—to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that this bispecific antibody exhibits superior anti-tumor efficacy compared to the combination of its two parental antibodies, holding promise for development into a next-generation broad-spectrum targeted cancer therapy.

This product originates from Yuaneng Medicine’s proprietary antibody development technology platform, which primarily comprises an ultra-large-capacity phage-displayed fully human antibody library, a nanobody library, and a suite of antibody technologies including affinity maturation. In alignment with the company’s development strategy, this platform mainly provides high-specificity, high-affinity antibody sequences for the company’s Ori-CAR platform, while also selecting appropriate targets to develop antibody drug candidates. Currently, multiple independently innovated monoclonal antibody and bispecific antibody series targeting solid tumors are under research and development.

According to Ms. Yang Huanfeng, Chairwoman and CEO of YuanNeng Medicine, since its establishment in 2015, the company has invested substantial resources to build a research team with a solid foundation, establish four collaborative technology platforms (antibody development, innovative Ori-CAR, Ori-TIL, and Ori-UCAR), and develop a pipeline of promising tumor immunotherapy products.

“The clinical development capabilities of this multinational innovative pharmaceutical company have left a deep impression on us. We believe that, driven by the partner’s team, this product will accelerate its clinical research and commercialization process. This collaboration also serves as an excellent starting point, marking Yuaneng Medicine’s entry into a new phase of accelerated growth built on substantial accumulated strength. We look forward to engaging in more strategic partnerships with other outstanding pharmaceutical companies to leverage complementary advantages,” said Yang Huanfeng.

YuanNeng Medicine focuses on the clinical needs of cellular immunotherapy for solid tumors and is dedicated to the development of tumor immune cell therapy products. The company has established a comprehensive research and product development system, building four technological platforms: antibody development, innovative Ori-CAR, Ori-TIL, and Ori-UCAR. Currently, the company possesses eight independently developed cell product pipelines targeting solid tumors and has initiated six exploratory clinical studies. In particular, the company’s proprietary Ori-CAR platform technology offers unique advantages in high-memory CAR-T cell expansion and resistance to immunosuppressive microenvironments, holding promise for addressing industry pain points such as the high relapse rate after CAR-T therapy for hematologic malignancies and the suboptimal efficacy observed in solid tumors. The company’s CAR-T product targeting liver cancer-specific antigens in solid tumors has commenced the regulatory submission process for clinical trials, with both animal studies and exploratory clinical data demonstrating encouraging therapeutic efficacy.

Yuanneng Medicine was incubated by Yuanneng Cell Technology Group and received its first round of investment from the renowned venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners in late 2019.