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CANbridge Looks Beyond Asia With AVEO’s Oncology Drug

PharmasiaNewsCANbridge Looks Beyond Asia With AVEO’s Oncology Drug

By Jung Won Shin / Mar. 24, 2016 8:00 AM GMT

Executive Summary

In its first venture outside of Asia and a rare move by a Chinese biopharma firm, CANbridge Life Sciences is acquiring global rights to AVEO’s clinical-stage ErbB3 (HER3) inhibitory antibody candidate, in a step CANbridge’s CEO explains fits well with the company’s global strategy and therapeutic focus.

SEOUL – CANbridge Life Sciences Ltd. has inked an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with AVEO Oncology in which CANbridge will have worldwide rights, excluding the US, Canada and Mexico, to AV-203, AVEO’s clinical-stage ErbB3 (HER3) inhibitory antibody candidate.

CANbridge, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing western drug candidates in China and North Asia, plans to develop AV-203 first in esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC).

“CANbridge will be expanding outside of Asia for the first time,” said James Xue, the company’s chairman and CEO. “Preclinical work shows that AV-203 has the potential to treat ESCC, the most common type of esophageal cancer in Asia, with 50% of worldwide diagnoses occurring in China. Esophageal cancer is also prevalent in other parts of the world, particularly developing countries.

“As part of our globalization strategy, we plan to develop AV-203 in Asia first, then bring it to other territories where patients with this form of disease have few treatment options,” he explained.

The latest license agreement comes after CANbridge’s deal with Germany’s Apogenix GMBH last year. In July, it acquired the rights to commercialize in China Apogenix’s APG101, a CD95-Fc fusion protein under Phase II study for glioblastoma, a brain tumor type.

Strategic Focus

The Beijing-based drug discovery company will primarily concentrate on oncology for now, Xue told PharmAsia News.

“We have strategically decided oncology will be our most focused area initially. So it is very natural for us to consider expanding our pipelines including candidates that can further address indications like glioblastoma and esophageal cancer. Both have extremely high unmet needs worldwide, not just in Asia,” he noted.

“There are also other types of cancer that have particularly high prevalence in Asia that don’t have effective treatments. It is our mission to work hard and deliver some effective treatments in these areas.”

According to the World Health Organization, esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer globally, with over 450,000 cases diagnosed each year.

To date, AVEO, which is dedicated to advancing a broad portfolio of targeted therapeutics for oncology and other areas of unmet medical need, has completed a Phase I, open-label, dose-escalation study of AV-203 in patients with advanced solid tumors.

The epididymis blockage can levitra samples be repaired surgically. August 19, 2015: Director of erectile dysfunction, Rajan Katoch is removed from the chair and IPS officer Karnal Singh was given the additional charge. abacojet.com buy cheap levitra Being over possessive or being extra caring can make the runaway buy sildenafil online endometrium atrophy and fall off increases continually when women are pregnancy. Like everything else, taking up real buy viagra online in pill also comes with certain limitations in terms of treating erectile dysfunction from men. In this study, AV-203 was found to be generally safe and well-tolerated, with an early signal of activity consistent with preclinical data showing the potential for heregulin, the only known ligand for ErbB3, to serve as a biomarker predictive of AV-203 anti-tumor activity.

Deal Details, Clinical Plans

Under the terms of the agreement with AVEO, CANbridge Life Sciences is obligated to pay AVEO an upfront payment of $1m plus up to $133m in potential reimbursement and milestone payments, assuming the successful achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercialization objectives.

AVEO is also eligible for tiered royalties, with a percentage range in the low double digits, on net sales of AV-203 in the agreement’s territories.

CANbridge Life Sciences will be responsible for costs associated with the execution of a development plan that includes additional manufacturing requirements as well as preclinical and clinical studies necessary to demonstrate proof-of-concept for AV-203 as a treatment for squamous cell esophagus cancer, including a Phase IIa proof-of-concept study meeting mutually agreed upon criteria.

“Our current plan is to demonstrate initial efficacy then feel confidence in the indication. Afterward, we will consider multinational studies. Whether in Asia or beyond Asia, we haven’t decided it yet,” the CEO said. “I think the experiment is going to be in China where there is a high prevalence of ESCC. We will start the Phase I in China next year.”

“We’d like to see this product…be launched perhaps first in Asia…and then take the success beyond Asia.” – James Xue, chairman and CEO, CANbridge

The company plans to conduct Phase IIa in China in a couple of years, he added.

Following completion of the proof-of-concept studies, AVEO and CANbridge will negotiate a possible agreement under which they may co-develop AV-203, with each party bearing a percentage of the cost of global development activities based on respective geographic rights.

If the parties fail to reach such an agreement, CANbridge may continue the development of AV-203 on its own in markets outside of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Asia First, Global Second

Speaking on the company’s global strategy, the Xue said if the company has an effective and promising candidate which has global impact beyond China and Asia, it will be happy to see the therapy utilized.

“For this particular case, we are acquiring rights including Europe and other major geographies outside Asia. Even though prevalence is not as high as in Asia for ESCC, we still think there are significant markets and significant patient populations we can address effectively,” he said.

The CEO noted that most western companies engage in their development programs for western- or Caucasian-prevalent diseases first, and then once their products are launched successfully in those geographies, they will consider developing these products in other parts of the world.

“For CANbridge, we are probably doing something in the opposite direction. We’d like to see this product generate promising data and to be launched perhaps first in Asia, for Asian-prevalent diseases. And then take the success beyond Asia. That is our global strategy,” he said.

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Canbridge nabs rights to Aveo’s ErbB3 antibody for esophageal cancer

By Shannon Ellis
Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

SHANGHAI – Canbridge Life Sciences Ltd., a privately held biopharma in Beijing, has in-licensed AV-203 , a clinical-stage ErbB3 (HER3) inhibitory antibody candidate from Aveo Oncology Inc., of Cambridge, Mass. While the candidate has been tested in numerous tumor models, Canbridge will develop AV-203 in esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC), the most prevalent form of esophageal cancer especially in China where half of all new cases arise.

A virtual biopharma with a team of 20, Canbridge has a China-focused strategy by seeking out global candidates that can meet a specific unmet need in China or Asia. The lead candidate, APG101 (aka CAN008), is a targeted CD95 therapeutic for glioblastoma in-licensed from Apogenix GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany.

In this deal, Aveo will receive a $1 million up-front payment with the potential to receive $133 million downstream if all goes according to plan. Terms also call for Aveo to receive a tiered royalty with a percentage range in the low double digits on net sales.

In return, Canbridge has the right to develop AV-203 (aka CAN017) globally, excluding North America, for numerous indications although ESCC is the top priority.

“This is not a regional deal; it is worldwide outside of North America,” James Xue, Canbridge CEO, told BioWorld Today. “When you come to a valuation, you build in both geographies as well as indications. Because it is our decision to investigate esophageal carcinoma first, but it has potential in other types of tumors where squamous cell is dominant or has a significant presence, we feel to show our seriousness a modest up-front payment was appropriate.”

Canbridge will cover the costs for developing CAN017 for squamous cell esophagus cancer to demonstrate proof of concept including additional in-China manufacturing requirements, preclinical and clinical studies all the way to phase IIa.

The two sides leave open the option of working more closely to co-develop the candidate once Canbridge completes proof of concept in China.

“This agreement allows us to further advance AV-203 development by leveraging the resources of a motivated partner in Canbridge,” said Michael Bailey, Aveo’s president and CEO. “Importantly, it also allows us to retain North American rights for future development for a third clinical stage drug candidate, providing Aveo with a robust portfolio of oncology therapeutics.”

THE GENZYME CONNECTION

Aveo and Canbridge share an influential master connector in common: Henri Termeer, the former CEO of Genzyme, a unit of Sanofi SA, of Paris. Termeer is the chairman of Aveo and also Canbridge’s chief advisor. (Before branching out on his own, Xue was the China general manager for Genzyme.) Having Termeer on the team has been a boon for Canbridge in making ties with the U.S. and Europe.

“We talked about how Canbridge has an interest in Asian disease and whether in their pipeline there was something where we could leverage our strengths, and it came to the AV203,” said Xue. “Aveo had already completed a phase I study in the U.S. but because of their priorities, they probably will not have any immediate plans for post-phase I development. We took a closer look and saw the relationship with squamous cell type carcinoma. We moved pretty quickly after determining that since Asia has over half the world prevalence of esophageal cancer.”

For its part, Aveo has had a bumpy ride after its lead candidate, tivozanib for renal cell carcinoma, ran into costly regulatory complications with the FDA during phase III trials. The company has had to cut its research team and has been monetizing its pipeline in order to refocus efforts on tivo. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 18, 2014.)

TOO MANY PICKLED VEGETABLES

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A China-focused statistical review published in Thoracic Cancer estimated there were 287,632 new cases of ESCC diagnosed and 208,473 deaths in 2010. Esophageal cancer incidence ranked fifth of all cancer types in China, with a rate of 21.88 per 100 000. For both incidence and mortality, men living in rural areas were most likely to be affected, peaking at the age 80 to 84.

In certain rural areas in Henan, Hebei and Shanxi, the incidence rate shoots to the highest in the world, greater than 100 cases per 100,000 according to a study in the Journal of Epidemiology. Other high incidence areas are found in the provinces of Sichuan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Fujian, Guangdong and Xinjiang.

Studies show there is a complex interaction between genetic factors when combined with alcohol consumption, smoking and poor nutrition that can cause ESCC. It is believed diets containing a high quantity of pickled vegetables (with nitrosamine content) are also to blame.

 

ERBB3 (HER3)

ErbB3 belongs to a family of four proteins that also includes EGFR (HER1) and HER2 tyrosine kinase receptors. ErbB3 stimulates cancer growth and its overexpression generally correlates with poor prognosis.

AV-203 selectively targets the receptor ErbB3 and demonstrated preclinical activity in a number of different tumor models including breast, head and neck, lung, ovarian and pancreatic cancers. The preclinical data further showed the potential for heregulin, the only known ligand for ErbB3, to serve as a biomarker predictive of AV-203 anti-tumor activity.

Aveo completed a phase I study showing no dose-limiting toxicities at a maximum dose of 20 mg/kg.

Plans are already under way at Canbridge to make use of PDX mice models to continue testing CAN017 in tumors from Chinese squamous cell esophageal cancer patients. Company execs expect to be ready to submit an investigational new drug application next year, and take advantage of China’s new guidelines for innovative drugs.

“We are going to start a human trial in China first and hope to take advantage of the green channel approach. Because it is [CAN017 targets] a major malignant tumor, has a Chinese specificity, and we are going to manufacture the product in China, it will allow us to tap into the national guidance,” said Xue.

CHINA AS A LAUNCHPAD TO THE WEST

Meeting China’s significant unmet medical needs is the stated aim of many of China’s most promising biopharmas, in large part because there is such a gap between the drugs available in developed markets and in China – with only about 30 percent drugs available in China.

“The big multinational companies have set their center of gravity and development capabilities mostly in the West,” explains Xue. “Many products are successfully launched with Western populations as a priority. If they happen to be able to address a disease in the Asian population then it is perfect. However, if prevalence in Asia is much greater than in the West and you are still using this algorithm to the do the global launch then it will be quite a missed opportunity for those companies. That is where companies like Canbridge can come in.”

But with Canbridge’s first foray into a global rights deal, the company is joining a small band of companies that are hoping to pull the center of gravity slowly their way.

“Once the data generated in China begins to look very promising, we have strong confidence that we can replicate the data in the West,” said Xue. “We can utilize Asia as a base to develop innovative therapies for the global patient, instead of the other way around.”

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Canbridge confirms ligand CD95 in Chinese patient biomarker study

By Shannon Ellis, Staff Writer ©2016. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THOMSON REUTERS. SHANGHAI – Canbridge Life Sciences Inc. has confi rmed the existence of ligand CD95 in Chinese glioblastoma patients after completing the fi rst such biomarker study of its kind on the mainland. There are viagra no prescription but choose always the best. Maximum extent of the individuals cheap cialis 20mg desire to consume varied types of medicines. Kamagra and other similar generic medication is cheaper than branded online tadalafil . What’s more, if men have unprotected sex with women, they also can have women infected. order viagra without prescription The study demonstrated a high degree of CD95 ligand expression consistency between geographically diverse Chinese and Western glioblastoma multiforme patients. Earlier this year, Beijing-based Canbridge licensed the China rights – including Hong Kong and Macau for APG101 (also known as CAN008), a targeted CD95 therapeutic – from Apogenix GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, for an undisclosed amount. (See BioWorld Asia, July 22, 2015.)

Click here to read the full article.

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Canbridge inks deal with Apogenix to bring targeted brain tumor treatment to China

By Shannon Ellis, Staff Writer

©2015. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THOMSON REUTERS.

SHANGHAI – Beijing-based Canbridge Life Sciences Inc. is a
biotech that seeks to bring Western innovation to Chinese patients
who have few if any treatment options. That licensing strategy has
led it to sign a deal with Apogenix GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany,
for lead candidate APG101, an onco-immunotherapy targeting the
CD95 ligand for a highly lethal and diffi cult to treat type of brain
cancer, glioblastoma multiforme.

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up-front payment, with the promise of milestones and royalties,
in exchange for the technology and rights to develop and
commercialize APG101 in China, Hong Kong and Macau. Canbridge
signed on for indications beyond glioblastoma as well.
“We are always actively looking for clinical-stage assets from
biotechs that hold promise for any unmet medical needs,
particularly in the oncology area,” said James Xue, chairman and
CEO of Canbridge. “Apogenix’s lead product, APG101, fi ts like a
glove.”

Click here to read the full article…

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Canbridge takes it to next level with $10M series A from local VC backers

Canbridge takes it to next level with $10M series A from local VC backers

By Shannon Ellis
Staff Writer

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

SHANGHAI – Canbridge Life Sciences Inc., a Beijing-based biopharma company started in 2012 with angel and private capital, has received $10 million in a series A investment from leading local health care venture capital funds Qiming Ventures and TF Capital. The investment will be used to further Canbridge’s two existing in-licensed programs and put cash in its pocket to bring in more assets.

The funding comes at a crucial time for the company’s pipeline. Its development-stage candidate, ATI-1123, licensed from nanotech specialist Azaya Therapeutics Inc., of San Antonio, is ready to progress to the next stage in the clinic. It is a liposomal formulation of docetaxel to treat non-small-cell lung cancer and is expected to start phase II testing in the U.S. in 2015. (See BioWorld Asia, Sept. 25, 2013.)

Canbridge will work jointly with Azaya, taking responsibility for the phase II trial in China at the same time.

The company also has taken on board an oral rinse for the treatment of mucositis resulting from cancer treatments. Classified as a medical device, those products typically can get on the market quickly with an expedited registration process, which James Xue, founder and CEO of Canbridge, said the firm is ready to start soon.

China presents unique challenges to R&D companies with no source of revenue. The development phase is long and uncertain, and while there are some cost savings, it is increasingly expensive to do trials here. Financiers that understand how to assess the risks of biotechnology are few and far between, and with Chinese venture capitalists (VCs) having shorter life cycles than their Western counterparts, it is typically difficult for start-up biotechs to find a good match with VCs.

It does not help that only companies with a three-year track record of profits are able to go public on Chinese exchanges, complicating exits for investors.

The Canbridge announcement highlights how several of those obstacles have been overcome.

From the outset, Xue has adopted a thoughtful strategy for Canbridge, focusing on innovation to meet China’s unmet medical needs but managing the inherent risks with a “portfolio” approach – looking for assets that are in development and then balancing those with products that are approved in other markets and/or devices that are easier to get on the market. Taking on discovery is not part of the plan.

That approach helped to make Canbridge appealing to TF Capital.

“Their products have high potential here. Xue has thoroughly considered the issue of time to market to reduce our investment risk,” Kevin Chiang, partner at TF Capital, told BioWorld Asia.

TF Capital is a relatively new VC fund, started as a spin-off of well-known local contract research organization Tigermed. With only six months under its belt, TF Capital has participated in roughly eight deals, said Chiang.

With respect to age related tinnitus one of the most recommended treatments being viagra uk without prescription . So no more worries of hair fall in these levitra professional countries. But now there are some effective medications available to increase the volume of corpus cavernosa, which are the structures in super active cialis the penis responsible for erection. cheap female viagra Past research has shown that a high number of traffic; needless to say, if they accept the severity, they do not actually seek for help. The Canbridge investment marks its third deal financing a biotech start-up with Qingming Partners, both of which supported promising biotech start-ups Zai Labs Inc. and Ark Biosciences Inc., both of Shanghai. (See BioWorld Asia, June 24, 2014, and Sept. 2, 2014.) Qingming Partners is also an investor in Tigermed.

Because the limited partners in TF Capital come from the health care industry, Chiang explained, the fund has a longer life cycle than many other funds, with a horizon of eight years plus a three-year extension.

Chinese VCs typically have five years plus two, making it difficult for many to invest in early stage biotech companies.

It also helps that the Canbridge investment comes at the beginning of TF Capital’s life cycle, which allows the venture firm to stay for the “long haul,” according to Chiang.

With so many industry contacts, “we believe that we have more information and connection to understand the risk better than most of the investment companies in the industry,” Chiang said. But he added, “the investment cycle is long so it is better [to] work with friends who have the appetite for risk.”

CHANGING REGULATORY LANDSCAPE

One of the risks is the quickly changing regulatory landscape. Xue intends to file the phase II trial for ATI-1123 as a multiregional clinical trial, or MRCT, the rules for which are going through a process of clarification. (See BioWorld Asia, Dec. 5, 2014.)

But Xue said he welcomes the government reforms as a way to help get more differentiated products on the market that offer greater value to patients. He said he has made a close read of the MRCT discussion document and is not expecting delays.

“People believe [the MRCT rules] will slow down regulatory approval. I don’t anticipate it will slow us down very much for the Azaya or Canbridge program – our MRCT is a true MRCT – vs. some other companies who may put the program under the cover of the MRCT,” he said. “We are going to file CFDA guidance as a MRCT phase II using the same protocol as our partners.”

As for T.F. Capital’s Chiang, he said he is happy to be working with Xue, who has both the scientific background and proven business experience, having set up the Genzyme China office.

He said the past year, with China’s enormous success in the internet and high-tech sectors, such as the listing of Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group for $24 billion, the biggest initial public offering (IPO) listing in history, has emboldened many of China’s best and brightest to become entrepreneurs. They are leaving cushy corporate jobs in droves to take a chance on China’s reforming economy that is growing the buying power of its middle class.

“The passion and the ego to be an entrepreneur in China is at an all-time high,” Chiang said. “You see all these success stories from the internet world now influencing pharma.”

“It is a different story now,” he added. “Everyone used to want to work for a company like McKinsey; now people are going out on their own, if they don’t, they feel they will regret it.”

That does not make finding an exit any more reliable, but it does help to find new investments.

The hope is that the IPO rules will change in the time frame of TF Capital’s investment, and Chiang added that “the challenge is finding the good people among ourselves and investors who have been in the industry for a long time, that we have a comfort level with. The exit is still challenging, but it is more friendly [amongst VCs]; so far, we feel comfortable, and there is the possibility of more exits opening up in the future.”

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How Chinese healthcare VC firm TF Capital is investing first fund

BIOCENTURY

14 WEEK OF December 8, 2014

EMERGING COMPANIES

How Chinese healthcare VC firm TF Capital is investing first fund

FAST FUNDING FOR CHINESE HEALTHCARE INNOVATORS

http://www.biocentury.com/biotech-pharma-news/finance/2014-12-08/how-chinese-healthcare-vc-firm-tf-capital-is-investing-first-fund-a13b

TF Capital plans to invest its inaugural China-focused VC fund in innovation and technology in that nation’s healthcare space. The firm, which has about $50 million to invest, has already made about eight investments, including last week’s $10 million series A round for in-licensing play

Canbridge Life Sciences Ltd.

 

“The whole healthcare sector has changed with the booming middle class, and we see a big

opportunity here,” said TF Capital’s Kevin Chiang.

The firm’s investors include CRO Hangzhou Tigermed Consulting Co. Ltd. (SZSE:300347) and specialty pharma Coland Holdings Ltd. (GreTai:4144), along with VC Qiming Venture Partners.

TF is investing up to $4 million per company and will invest its first fund in about 10-15 companies, including in-licensors as well as novel therapeutic plays and medtech.

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“The fund is focusing on and encouraging more early stage stuff than other funds in China,” said Chiang. He added that it has a duration of eight years, plus or minus two years.

According to Chiang, TF is investing the fund at a faster pace than expected and “very soon will have to raise a second one,” but he declined to disclose a timeline.

 

TF’s latest investment was last week’s Canbridge deal in which Qiming also participated.

Canbridge CEO James Xue said the company plans to use the funds for R&D for its two in-licensed programs and to add specialty care assets.

 

Early next year, CANbridge plans to file clinical trial application in China on phase II study of ATI-1123 in non-small cell lung cancer and will initiate CFDA registration process with Caphosol, an adjunct treatment for chemo and radiation induced oral mucositis.

Canbridge has rights in China, Taiwan and South Korea to ATI-1123, a protein-stabilized nanoparticle formulation of docetaxel, from Azaya Therapeutics Inc.; and rights from Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) to Caphosol in China and parts of North Asia.

TF and Qiming are also investors in Zai Laboratory Inc., another China-based in-licensing play.

Zai raised $32 million in an A round in September (see BioCentury, Sept. 22, 2014).

— Jennifer Rhodes

 

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CANbridge Life Science’s ‘portfolio’ bid aims to get cancer drugs to patients faster

Canbridge Life Science’s ‘portfolio’ bid aims to get cancer drugs to patients faster

By Shannon Ellis 

July 29, 2104

Staff Writer

SHANGHAI – Canbridge Life Sciences Inc., of Beijing, is on its way to bridging the gap that leaves many patients in China waiting anywhere from four years to six years for critical treatments approved in developed markets. With time of the essence, the firm is taking a portfolio approach to its in-licensing strategy, developing both clinical-stage and approved treatments, while mixing new drugs with treatments classified as medical devices.

In its second deal since forming last year, Canbridge will have the Chinese commercialization rights to Caphosol, an adjunct therapy for cancer patients that suffer from extreme dry mouth (oral mucositis) as a consequence of radiation or chemotherapy. According to CEO James Xue, there are no adequate treatments approved in China, even though Caphosol has been available in the U.S., Canada and the European Union.

Canbridge signed the deal with Eusa Pharma Ltd., the international division of Jazz Pharmaceutical plc, of Dublin.

“Drug development takes a lot of money capital and time,” Xue said. “If we only focus on products that are in clinical development stage . . . we have to take a lot of risks in terms of development risk.”

In the company’s inaugural deal, it did take on some of that risk. Canbridge licensed the China rights to co-develop ATI-1123, a liposomal formulation of docetaxel to treat non-small-cell lung cancer, from nanotech specialist Azaya Therapeutics Inc., of San Antonio. ATI-1123 had finished phase I in the U.S. for multiple solid tumor cancers. (See BioWorld Asia, Sept. 25, 2014.)

Developing novel therapeutics is a lengthy and costly process everywhere, but particularly so in China. And with so much unmet need, going after some low-hanging fruit can help a small start-up generate crucial income to temper the risk.

Xue said that Canbridge is hopeful Caphosol will launch in a “relatively more speedy way and with limited risk,” citing that those “products already approved by the U.S. FDA and EMEA have a pretty assured registration and approval process in China.”

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Oral mucositis is a startlingly common side effect of cancer treatment. It can lead to painful mouth sores, impede a patient’s ability to swallow or take in nutrition orally and, in some cases, cause life-threatening sepsis.

The company estimated some 40 percent of chemotherapy patients, 70 percent of bone marrow transplant patients and 97 percent of head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation therapy develop oral mucositis.

“This product has a vey attractive market potential. The number of cancer patients is at 3.5 million a year in China and most of these patients would experience a certain degree of mucositis,” Xue said. “The sheer number of patients is so large, even if we capture a small percentage of the market, it will still mean significant revenues for us.”

BUILDING A FULLY INTEGRATED COMPANY

With that deal, Canbridge is also a step closer to realizing its plans to be a fully integrated biotech company and will develop its commercial operation from the ground up. Its model is in the same mold as those of Sciclone Pharmaceutical Inc. and Hong Kong-based Lee’s Pharmaceutical Ltd., both of which have been successful in licensing the best of the West for China.

Xue brings regulatory and commercialization experience from his days as general manager at Genzyme China, and he said the current climate, with numerous pharma companies being probed for corrupt activities in their sales ranks, does not deter him. Echoing a sentiment shared by other speciality biotechs, he said, “there are ways to do it right; the precondition is the product you work with is unique enough to differentiate itself.”

Citing data from a study conducted last year by McKinsey Consulting, that 50 percent of big pharma revenues in China comes from off-patent therapies left to fight it out against cheaper generics, he said, “even big pharma has not done the proper work to bring original, patented life-saving therapies to China.”

Xue said his reception during his U.S. trips has been increasingly positive and he has seen a trend where “CEOs are taking a more active role in directing their China strategy at an earlier stage . . . to drive up the value of their equity in the face of their investors,” and, he adds, may be a little disappointed in the ability of the big pharmas to execute partnerships in China.

Canbridge may very well be on a roll. According to Xue, it has received special status from the Beijing municipality that will enable it to tap into government grants and other resources, and it has struck up a partnership with an undisclosed Chinese pharmaceutical with cash to invest. He said the company now has a very robust business development pipeline and expects to be making several announcements in the coming months

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Azaya Therapeutics taking big steps

Azaya Therapeutics Inc. expects to close soon on a %5 million funding round that the company intiated in October 2013.  The convertible-note bridge Researchers believe that when watermelon is consumed, citrulline is converted into the amino acid arginine which acts as a precursor for nitric oxide, and the nitric oxide will help in blood sildenafil 10mg vessel dilation. Many online pharmacies are dealing cialis price australia with this problem, you should be certain to be ok soon. Don’t share your Sildenafil tablets with other people by not trusting them because of our past cialis canada online experiences. Over the years, chiropractic care best cialis price has gained popularity among men over the years. funding — which was oversubscribed and driven by local investors — is timely as the San Antonio-based biotech company prepares to further expand its business.

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CANbridge: A bridge to China

CANbridge: A bridge to China
By Erin McCallister
Senior Editor

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Many small biotechs in the U.S. and Europe do not have the resources to develop their programs in China in parallel with Western territories, leading to a five- to eight-year lag before a Chinese launch.

CANbridge Life Sciences Ltd. plans to in-license candidates from these companies for China and elsewhere in East Asia as part of a global development strategy for its biotech partners.
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CANbridge wants to get the programs to patients in China faster and believes its executive team can help small biotechs develop their programs in China in parallel with an in-house Western development program.

Two of CANbridge’s executives have experience taking programs through the clinic and to market in China from time spent working at Genzyme China, a division of Genzyme Corp., which was acquired by Sanofi in 2011.

CEO James Xue was the founding general manager of Genzyme China. Crystal Xu, head of clinical development, was Genzyme China’s director of medical and
regulatory affairs.

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