Life Science Valley in Future Science City Accelerates R&D with Multiple Innovative Therapies Advancing into Clinical Trials

Source: Beijing Daily Client

Innovative target drugs, innovative ophthalmic gene drugs, personalized tumor neoantigen vaccines... Recently, innovative pharmaceutical companies in the Future Science City's Life Valley have frequently reported successes in research and development. Among them,InnoCareThe first patient has been dosed with a novel ADC (antibody-drug conjugate) innovative drug independently developed; Junda Jiuzhou's self-developed ocular gene therapy drug has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; NeoCura's self-developed mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) personalized tumor neoantigen vaccine has entered Phase I clinical research.

On October 30, the innovative pharmaceutical company InnoCare announced that its self-developed novel ADC drug ICP-B794 has completed the first patient dosing. This innovative drug targets the innovative B7-H3 site, and currently, there is no such targeted therapy approved globally. Therefore, the new drug is expected to fill this gap and offer a new treatment option for patients. B7-H3 is a type I transmembrane protein highly expressed in various solid tumors. Its specific expression in tumor cells makes it a very promising anti-tumor target. Cui Jisong, co-founder and chairman of InnoCare, introduced that this innovative drug originates from the company's self-developed ADC platform. The differentiated design allows it to precisely target tumor cells, reduce off-target effects, and bring treatment hope to patients with various solid tumors such as lung cancer, esophageal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and prostate cancer. In animal models, this innovative drug demonstrated superior anti-tumor activity compared to other products, showing significant tumor-killing ability even against large tumors.

Jianda Jiuzhou's self-developed ophthalmic gene therapy drug, GA001 Injection, has also achieved new progress recently. The drug has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which will significantly accelerate the clinical trial and marketing registration process. Previously, GA001 Injection received orphan drug designation from the U.S. FDA in March 2025, and its Investigational New Drug (IND) application was accepted by the Center for Drug Evaluation of the National Medical Products Administration in August. The drug has shown remarkable results in treating advanced blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa. Since the first patient was dosed in January 2024, most participants have experienced significant vision improvement, with some even able to identify nearby letters and patterns. Compared with Luxturna, the world’s first ophthalmic gene therapy drug, GA001 is not limited by specific genetic mutations and is suitable for advanced retinitis pigmentosa caused by various factors, indicating huge market potential.

In addition, NeoCura's self-developed mRNA personalized tumor neoantigen vaccine XH001 has recently initiated a Phase I clinical study at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. This is the first mRNA personalized tumor neoantigen vaccine in China to enter the clinical stage, and globally, no similar products have been approved for marketing. The clinical study, jointly led by Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Peking University Cancer Hospital, aims to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of XH001 as an adjuvant treatment for high-risk recurrent solid tumor patients after curative surgery. XH001 uses NeoCura's self-developed tumor neoantigen prediction platform to precisely screen the most immunogenic neoantigens, synthesizing in vitro the corresponding mRNA vaccine encoding these neoantigens, which is then efficiently delivered into the patient’s body to induce T-cell immune responses and precisely target and kill tumor cells. Previous studies have confirmed its good safety profile and its ability to effectively activate anti-tumor specific immune responses.

Source: Beijing Daily Client