Biocytogen Grants Qilu Pharmaceutical Non-Exclusive License for Fully Human Nanobody Molecule to Support Neuroscience Drug Development

Sept. 2, 2026

Dr. Shen Yuelai has spent years building an arsenal of antibody tools at Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (SSE:688796; HKEX:02315). Now one of those tools — a fully human nanobody molecule — is heading to one of China's largest pharmaceutical companies for a new mission: tackling diseases of the nervous system.

Biocytogen, known to investors as a dual-listed biotech with operations from Beijing to Boston, announced on Sept. 2 that it has signed a non-exclusive license agreement with Qilu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Under the deal, Biocytogen will grant Qilu rights to a single fully human nanobody molecule for use in neuroscience drug-development research.

Financial terms were not fully disclosed. Biocytogen will receive an upfront payment and is entitled to additional payments tied to development, regulatory, and commercialization milestones, according to the agreement.

A Molecule With Options

The nanobody in question was generated by Biocytogen's proprietary RenNano® platform, which is designed to discover fully human nanobody molecules with favorable specificity, affinity, and developability. The platform can serve as a molecular foundation for single-domain antibodies, bispecific or multispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, and other innovative formats.

Qilu Pharmaceutical will now integrate the molecule into its own R&D pipeline, applying its internal strategies to advance further research and development. The company has not disclosed the specific form the subsequent development will take, saying only that it will be tailored to the project's characteristics and therapeutic needs.

Why Neuroscience, Why Now

Neuroscience drug development remains one of the most scientifically demanding areas in medicine. High translational barriers, complex target biology, and stringent requirements for molecular quality have kept many candidates from reaching patients.

"Neuroscience drug R&D carries a high scientific and translational threshold, posing systematic demands on target understanding, molecular quality, and downstream development strategy," Dr. Shen, who serves as Biocytogen's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "Nanobodies, with their unique molecular characteristics, offer new exploration space for drug design in complex disease areas."

He added that Qilu Pharmaceutical's deep experience in innovative drug R&D and industrialization made it a fitting partner. "We look forward to seeing these fully human nanobody molecules effectively integrate with Qilu's R&D system, supporting the company's exploration of innovative projects with development potential and providing more possibilities for the development of potential treatments in the neuroscience field."

Two Companies, Different Strengths

Qilu Pharmaceutical is one of China's major comprehensive pharmaceutical enterprises. Long committed to innovation-driven growth, the company has built capabilities spanning chemical drugs, biologics, and innovative drug R&D, with a fully integrated system covering early discovery through development, manufacturing, and commercialization.

For Biocytogen, the deal represents another commercial validation of its expanding molecular toolkit. The company describes itself as an international biotech driven by proprietary gene-editing technology, built around a dual-engine platform of fully human antibody libraries and target-humanized mouse libraries.

Its RenMice® suite — which includes RenMab®, RenLite®, RenNano®, RenTCR®, and RenTCRmimic® — supports the discovery of therapeutic fully human monoclonal antibodies, bispecific and multispecific antibodies, bispecific ADCs, nanobodies, and TCR-like antibodies.

Under its "Thousand Mice, Ten Thousand Antibodies" initiative, Biocytogen is pursuing a large-scale antibody discovery program targeting more than 1,000 potential druggable targets. The company has built a library of over 1 million real fully human antibody sequences and has opened it to global collaboration.

As of June 30, 2026, Biocytogen has cumulatively signed more than 455 drug collaboration, licensing, or transfer agreements worldwide. Its subsidiary brand, Biocytogen Animal, has established thousands of gene-edited animal and cell models and maintains what it describes as one of the world's largest libraries of target-humanized mice, offering end-to-end preclinical pharmacology, gene-editing services, and model construction to global clients.

Headquartered in Beijing, Biocytogen operates branches in Haimen (Jiangsu) and Shanghai in China; Boston, San Francisco, and San Diego in the U.S.; and Heidelberg in Germany.

Source: Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. announcement, Sept. 2, 2026. Currency: All financial terms denominated in RMB (Chinese Yuan) unless otherwise stated.