Lyndra Inc., Co-Founded by Obama’s Chief Science Advisor and Former Pfizer EVP, Files IPO Prospectus Following Landmark Chengdu Biopharma Project Launch

Image provided by GDCC

From April 26 to 27, 2018, with strong support from the Sichuan Provincial People's Government and relevant departments, the inaugural Tianfu International High-Level Dialogue on Biopharmaceutical Commercialization, co-hosted by GF Securities and the Global Drug Commercialization Center, was held at the Jinjiang Hotel in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Nearly 300 representatives from the biopharmaceutical sector, both domestic and international, gathered to jointly explore the future development path of the biopharmaceutical industry.

The Tianfu International Biopharmaceutical Commercialization High-Level Dialogue, themed “Accelerating Commercialization Collaboration to Boost the Development of Emerging Industries,” invited renowned global leaders in biotechnology, relevant officials from Sichuan Province and the National Medical Products Administration, representatives from stock exchanges, executives from listed pharmaceutical companies and research institutes, and heads of professional financial investment institutions to deliver keynote speeches on hot topics such as development trends in the biotechnology industry, regulatory policies, and commercialization collaboration models.

Following the opening remarks, Luo Jiarong, Chief Healthcare Analyst at GF Securities, and Wei Yuquan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered insightful presentations on innovation and investment opportunities in the biopharmaceutical sector. Chen Deguang, Global Vice President of R&D Operations at Kelun Pharmaceutical, reviewed the company’s innovation journey. Shi Nianmin, Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Clinical Research of Vaccines, and Professor Li Liang from the University of Alberta, Canada, gave speeches on the global vaccine market landscape and the application of next-generation metabolomics platforms in pharmaceutical innovation, respectively.

The afternoon session continued to focus on innovation in biomedicine. Fred Craves, Managing Partner at Bay City Capital, shared his insights on technological innovations in new drug development and intellectual property, and discussed cross-border opportunities between China and the United States.

Craves also participated in the subsequent high-end dialogue session, joining Luo Jiarong from GF Securities, Robert Sindelar, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, Jiang Chenguang, Chief Operating Officer of GDCC, and Chen Chunlin, Chairman of Medicilon, to discuss the challenges and opportunities in China’s innovative drug development.

Furthermore, Stephen D. Collin, CEO of Biscayne; Karim Lalji, CEO of Microbion; Zafrifa Avnur, Chief Scientist of GDCC; and Michael Parr, CEO of Sika Canada, among others, successively reported on and presented their companies’ progress in new drug development.

The event also featured Dr. Robert Langer, a renowned scientist in the global biotechnology field. Dr. Langer is an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a member of the three U.S. National Academies, former chief scientific advisor to President Obama, and Chairman of the FDA’s highest-ranking scientific advisory board.

Dr. Langer has received more than 220 major awards throughout his career, has been recognized as one of the 25 most influential figures in the global biotechnology sector, has published over 1,000 papers, and holds more than 1,000 patents worldwide.

Also in attendance were notable figures such as Ms. Amy W. Schulman, former Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Pfizer, who was named to Fierce Biotech’s 2014 “15 Women Powering Biopharma” list; and Ms. Karimah Es Sabar, Chair of the Canadian Health and Bioeconomic Strategy Committee and former President of the Canadian Drug Research and Development Foundation (CDRD).

Image provided by GDCC

Lyndra (a long-acting, sustained-release delivery system for novel oral medications) is Dr. Langer’s experimental project. On April 27, the joint venture established based on this project held its unveiling ceremony at the event.

This project was jointly funded by the China Center of the Global Drug Commercialization Center (GDCC) and Lyndra Therapeutics, Inc. The total investment for Phase I of the project amounted to USD 160 million.

The joint venture will establish a global manufacturing hub for Lyndra’s core technologies and a product R&D center for the Greater China region in Chengdu, Sichuan. Leveraging this revolutionary technological product platform, they aim to build a world-leading drug delivery systems industry.

At this high-level dialogue, nearly 20 breakthrough and innovative biomedical projects were also released, selected through the GDCC network from globally renowned pharmaceutical companies, drug translation centers, prominent R&D institutions, and prestigious universities.

GDCC has jointly initiated and established the “China (Sichuan) Biopharmaceutical Industry Fund” with GF Securities, with a scale of RMB 10 billion, primarily to support the commercialization of biopharmaceutical projects introduced by GDCC and implemented in Sichuan.

Lyndra, a U.S.-based company, boasts a highly formidable management team. In addition to Dr. Langer, the team includes Amy W. Schulman, former Chief Legal Officer of Pfizer and Professor at Harvard Law School. Since its inception, the company has attracted significant interest from top-tier venture capital firms, including North American investors such as Polaris Partners and Alliance Healthcare. It has also secured non-dilutive funding from organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The company’s core technology, known as Oral Drug Gastrointestinal Sustained-Release and Retention Technology, has achieved a breakthrough by extending the gastrointestinal residence time for various oral medications from less than 24 hours to 1–2 weeks or even longer. Currently, the company has established strategic partnerships with numerous leading international pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and Allergan, and is engaged in joint development across different product lines.

The China Center of the Global Drug Commercialization Center (GDCC) of Canada successfully introduced and implemented this project in Chengdu, Sichuan, by establishing a joint venture with Lyndra. The total investment for Phase I of the project amounts to USD 160 million, with GDCC contributing USD 80 million to hold a 51% equity stake.

The LIZHUO Project joint venture will establish a global manufacturing hub for LIZHUO’s core technologies (supplying the global market) and a product R&D center for the Greater China region in Chengdu, Sichuan. Following the finalization of the project, prominent players in China’s healthcare industry, including CITIC Medical, Kangmei Pharmaceutical, Livzon Group, and Weigao Group, have expressed strong interest in the initiative.

With the successful implementation of this project, GDCC China Center will also introduce the aforementioned strategic partners as project collaborators to Chengdu, Sichuan.