Harbour BioMed Acquires Harbour Antibodies BV to Build a Global Leader in Oncology-Focused Biotechnology

Harbour BioMed, a China-based startup, announced today the acquisition of the Netherlands-based Harbour Antibodies BV through a combination of cash and equity. Building on this foundation, the company aims to establish itself as a world-leading biopharmaceutical enterprise focused on oncology immunotherapy. The newly formed entity will leverage its fully patent-protected Harbour Antibodies transgenic mouse platform to develop a next-generation pipeline of therapeutic tumor antibody drugs, while expanding collaboration and licensing activities around Harbour’s two core platforms. The seasoned management team at Harbour BioMed, with their extensive experience in drug research and development, will drive value creation for the new company.

“Whether it involves validated targets or newly discovered innovative ones, the Harbour transgenic mouse antibody development platform presents significant opportunities for the discovery and development of innovative fully human antibody therapeutics. We will build and enrich our product pipeline through three complementary approaches: internal R&D, collaborations with external companies and leading research institutions, and in-licensing of projects, all underpinned by our extensive experience in clinical development and regulatory registration in China and other regional markets.”

The acquisition was jointly funded by Harbour BioMed’s investors, Shangcheng Capital and Legend Capital, both of which are renowned investment firms in China’s life sciences sector. The original shareholders of Harbour Antibodies, including Atlas Venture, a prominent Boston-based biopharmaceutical venture capital firm, retain a stake in the new company and will continue to participate in Harbour BioMed’s growth and value creation.

Harbour BioMed has acquired a globally scarce fully human monoclonal antibody drug development platform, which features specialized technical barriers and holds an internationally dominant position. “Over the past five years, Harbour Antibodies’ two transgenic mouse platforms, serving as globally leading next-generation engines for fully human antibody drug discovery, have secured licensing partnerships with more than thirty companies,” said Dr. Peter Barrett, Investment Partner at Atlas Venture and former Chairman of Harbour Antibodies. “The team members at Harbour BioMed boast outstanding track records in global new drug development. The combination of a top-tier team and a leading R&D platform has laid a solid foundation for building a world-class innovative oncology therapeutics company.”

Harbour BioMed’s management team comprises several co-founders, including Dr. Jinsong Wang, Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Liang Zhong, Chief Scientific Officer. Prior to founding Harbour BioMed, Dr. Wang served as President of Sanofi’s China Research and Development Center and Head of Translational Medicine for the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, he held various positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb, ranging from Director of Drug Discovery and Clinical Pharmacology to Global Project Leader for multiple preclinical and clinical programs. Dr. Wang was formerly a Lecturer at Harvard Medical School and an Attending Physician in the Division of Rheumatology, Immunology, and Allergy. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Molecular Immunology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health under the mentorship of Dr. Laurie Glimcher, former President of the American Association of Immunologists, member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and current President of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Zhong also has extensive experience in novel drug development. Before co-founding Harbour BioMed, he led Sanofi’s oncology research in Asia and served as Director of New Candidate Drug Discovery and Optimization at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Zhong conducted his postdoctoral training under Dr. Harold Varmus, Nobel Laureate and former Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, President of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Director of the National Cancer Institute. The founding team members have demonstrated outstanding achievements in drug research and development. Under their leadership, more than 30 compounds have entered global clinical trials, facilitating the international launch of over 10 drugs and regulatory approval of more than 40 drugs in China.

In addition, Harbour BioMed has also recruited members of its Scientific Advisory Board, who enjoy global renown, including:

Dr. Frank Grosveld, Scientific Founder of Harbour Antibodies, Professor of Cell Biology at Erasmus University Medical Center, Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences;

Dr. Robert Kamen, former President of Abbott Bioresearch Center and its predecessor, BASF Bioresearch Corporation, led the global research, development, and production of Humira (adalimumab), the world’s top-selling drug, during his tenure. Additionally, Dr. Kamen previously served as Head of Research and Development at Genetics Institute. Dr. Kamen is also a former board member of Harbour Antibodies and will continue to serve on the Board of Directors of Harbour BioMed.

Dr. Robert Kramer, Chief Scientific Officer at SalvaRx Therapeutics and Sonnet Biotherapeutics, formerly Vice President of Global Oncology R&D at Johnson & Johnson and Vice President of Oncology and Immunology R&D at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he led the strategic planning and implementation of the company’s globally leading oncology immunotherapy portfolio. Dr. Kramer also served as an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Peter Moesta, CEO of Adello Biologics. Previously, Dr. Moesta led the manufacturing of two major oncology immunotherapies at Bristol-Myers Squibb: Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab). Prior to that, Dr. Moesta was responsible for the production of Humira at Abbott Laboratories and BASF.

“Harbour BioMed is fully leveraging this historic opportunity to harness global resources and drive the innovative transformation of China’s pharmaceutical industry. Our current focus is on building an innovative drug pipeline centered on the high-potential field of tumor immunotherapy,” said Dr. Wang Jinsong. “In the discovery and development of innovative fully human antibody drugs, our Harbour Transgenic Mouse antibody discovery platform presents significant opportunities, whether for validated targets or newly identified innovative targets. We will jointly build and enrich our product pipeline through three key approaches: internal R&D, external collaborations with other companies and leading research institutions, and in-licensing projects, all supported by our experience in clinical development and regulatory registration in China and other regional markets.”

Dr. Wang Jinsong stated that Harbour BioMed will continue the licensing business of Harbour Antibodies’ two major transgenic mouse platforms and will continue to invest resources in the ongoing development and enhancement of these platforms. To date, the Harbour platform has licensed its technology to more than thirty licensees, including globally renowned pharmaceutical companies and leading international research institutions. Harbour Antibodies will become a subsidiary of Harbour BioMed and will continue to manage the external licensing of its platform technologies.

Harbour possesses two globally leading platforms for the development of fully human antibodies using transgenic mice: HCAb and H2L2. Licensees of these platforms are conducting multiple drug research and development projects, with the most advanced antibody candidate scheduled to enter clinical development in 2017.

The HCAb platform generates single-domain antibodies, suitable for developing differentiated next-generation antibody molecules, including bispecific and multifunctional antibodies, as well as novel therapeutic agents based on antibody fragments.

The H2L2 platform generates classic fully human antibodies. Antibodies generated by Harbour’s two major platforms do not require humanization or additional affinity maturation, thereby saving time and costs in drug development.

Harbour Antibodies was founded by researchers from Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Dr. Roger Craig.

Harbour BioMed was founded in 2016, raising $50 million in its first round of financing from investors including Shangcheng Capital, Legend Capital, and the founding team. The company is headquartered in China, where its R&D base is also located. It has established a commercial operations center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and an antibody R&D platform innovation center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Additionally, the company plans to expand its business and establish a drug R&D innovation center in the Boston area.

Harbour BioMed is a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research and development of innovative therapeutics in the field of oncology immunotherapy. Leveraging its fully patent-protected transgenic mouse platform for the discovery of fully human antibodies, the company conducts drug R&D projects and builds and enriches its product pipeline through internal development, external collaborations, and in-licensing of preclinical and clinical-stage assets. Meanwhile, the company will continue to license its proprietary technology platform to other companies and research institutions through its subsidiary, Harbour Antibodies.