CHENGDU, China & MUMBAI, India I March 12, 2019 I HitGen Ltd. and Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd. (SPARC) (Reuters: SPRC.BO, Bloomberg: SPADV IN, NSE: SPARC, BSE: 532872) today announced a research collaboration to identify novel small molecule leads for targets of interest. Under this collaboration, HitGen will apply its advanced technology platform, based on DNA-encoded library design, synthesis and screening, to discover novel leads for SPARC. Under the terms of the agreement, HitGen will receive upfront payment and will be eligible for certain milestone payments.

“We are delighted to enter into collaboration with SPARC, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai. This collaboration further emphasizes the role of HitGen in the rapidly developing field of DNA-encoded chemistry. We will work closely with SPARC scientists to generate novel leads for their innovative research programs to address unmet medical needs.” said Dr. Jin Li, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of HitGen.

“We believe HitGen’s unique DNA-encoded library based screening platform combined with SPARC’s in-house research expertise, shall accelerate our drug discovery efforts. We look forward to collaborating with HitGen to bring innovative medicines for patients with serious medical conditions.” said Anil Raghavan, CEO of SPARC. “

About HitGen Ltd

HitGen is a rapidly growing biotech company with headquarters and main research facilities based in Chengdu, China and with a subsidiary in the USA. HitGen has established a platform for small molecule drug discovery centred on the design, assembly and interrogation of DNA encoded chemical libraries (DELs). HitGen’s DELs contain nearly 400 billion novel, diverse, drug-like small molecule and macrocyclic compounds. These compounds are members of DELs synthesised from many hundreds of distinct chemical scaffolds, designed with tractable chemistry, and yielding proven results for the discovery of small molecule leads against precedented and unprecedented classes of biological targets. HitGen is collaborating with pharmaceutical, biotech, and chemical companies, foundations and research institutes in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa to discover and develop approaches for novel medicines and agrochemical solutions. For more information, please visit www.hitgen.com

About SPARC (CIN: L73100GJ2006PLC047837):

Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd. (SPARC) is a global pharmaceutical company focused on continuously improving standards of care for patients globally through innovation in therapeutics and delivery. SPARC aims to consistently lower costs and improve operational efficiencies to advance availability and affordability of cures for patients across the world. More information about the company can be found at www.sparc.life

SOURCE: HitGen