Youzhiyou Bio and CSPC NBP Enter into RMB 150 Million Strategic Funding Agreement for M701 and Preclinical Bispecific Antibody

On June 10, 2020, Wuhan Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Youzhiyou Bio”) reached a financing cooperation agreement with its participating shareholder, CSPC NBP Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“CSPC NBP”), whereby Youzhiyou Bio would grant CSPC NBP the rights in China for M701 from its pipeline and another preclinical bispecific antibody product, subject to future exercise of this option.

Based on Wuhan Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.’s unique YBODY® bispecific antibody technology platform and products, as well as CSPC Enbipu’s advantages in industrialization, the two parties have reached a funding cooperation agreement. Wuhan Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. will receive RMB 150 million to meet future R&D needs, while CSPC Enbipu will obtain exclusive commercialization rights for the company’s M701 and another preclinical product in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. Additionally, Wuhan Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. will also receive a portion of the revenue from the future commercialization of these products.

In view of future strategic financing and IPO requirements, the two parties may also choose to terminate the original fund cooperation agreement before January 1, 2023, whereby Wuhan Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. shall pay CSPC NBP Cerebral Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. RMB 150 million plus the cost of fund usage, so that Wuhan Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. can retain the rights and interests in China for M701 and another preclinical product.

Dr. Zhou Pengfei, Founder and CEO of Wuhan Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., stated, “This collaboration leverages Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical’s strengths in bispecific antibody platform technology and combines them with CSPC’s resource integration capabilities, enabling the company to maintain its rapid growth trajectory amid significant opportunities in the bispecific antibody sector. Furthermore, with the financing from this partnership now secured, the company will enter a stable development phase over the next two years, allowing it to focus on clinical products and accelerate the translation of research outcomes.”

Wang Yiou, Board Secretary and Director of the Strategic Development Department at Wuhan Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., stated, “Since CSPC’s NBP Pharmaceutical and CDH Investments, among other institutional investors, acquired equity stakes in Youzhiyou Biopharma in 2018, multiple products in our portfolio, such as M701, M802, and other pipeline candidates, have achieved relevant progress and breakthroughs. However, compared to the R&D progress of our pipeline, the company’s market-oriented financing and business development (BD) licensing activities over the past three years have been relatively limited. Reaching a diversified funding cooperation agreement worth RMB 150 million with CSPC NBP will help the company accelerate its capitalization process while supplementing working capital.”

CSPC NBP Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a modern pharmaceutical enterprise primarily engaged in the research and production of innovative drugs for the nervous system, and is recognized as a National High-Tech Enterprise. In 2011, CSPC NBP Pharmaceutical was honored with the title of “Top 10 Innovative Enterprise Brands.” The company’s flagship product, Butylphthalide, is China’s first Class I new drug with independent intellectual property rights in the field of cerebrovascular disease treatment, filling the gap in domestically developed high-tech pharmaceuticals for this therapeutic area.

Wuhan Youzhiyou Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. was co-founded by Dr. Zhou Pengfei, a returning overseas scientist. Adhering to the mission of “Tracing the Origins of Life, Deciphering Cancer,” the company is dedicated to developing novel therapeutic drugs for patients in China. Its current R&D pipeline covers major disease areas including oncology, inflammation, and cardiovascular diseases. Notably, two of its product candidates—one for gastric cancer and breast cancer (HER2/CD3) and another for advanced malignant ascites (EpCAM/CD3)—have secured the first and second clinical trial approvals, respectively, in this field in China, and clinical studies are underway. These products hold promise for delivering improved therapeutic outcomes for cancer patients, significantly enhancing their quality of life and survival duration.

Recombinant Anti-EpCAM and CD3 Human-Mouse Chimeric Bispecific Antibody for Injection. It is the first drug in China for the treatment of malignant ascites that incorporates multiple immune and targeted mechanisms. The drug not only exhibits immune-activating and tumor-targeting effects but also leverages the dual-target binding properties of each M701 molecule to recruit patients’ autologous T cells via CD3 to EpCAM-positive tumor cells (EpCAM is an antigen expressed on the vast majority of tumor cells), thereby further activating and killing tumor cells, ultimately achieving the treatment of malignant ascites.