BEIJING, China I September 17, 2021 I InnoCare Pharma (HKEX: 09969) and Keymed Biosciences (HKEX: 02162) jointly announced today that the Investigational New Drug (IND) of CM355, a CD20xCD3 bispecific antibody developed by a joint venture between the two companies called Tiannuojiancheng Pharma, has been cleared by the China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).

CM355 binds to CD20 on the tumor cells and CD3 on the T cells, redirects and activates T cells to eradicate tumor cells through T-cell Directed Cellular Cytotoxicity (TDCC) in the treatment of CD20+ B-cell malignancies.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas are the main type of CD20+ B-cell malignancies, accounting for 80%-90%, which include diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL).

Dr. Jasmine Cui, Co-Founder, Chairwoman and CEO of InnoCare, said: “With the rapid growth of China’s economy and aging population, the incidence of lymphoma is continuing to rise. InnoCare and Keymed are both in-house innovation driven hi-tech companies committed to addressing unmet clinical needs. I am excited to see that the CD20xCD3 antibody developed through our collaboration has been approved for clinical trials. We will work together to accelerate the clinical trial to benefit patients sooner.”

Dr. Chen Bo, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Keymed Biosciences, said: “This is the first IND-approved therapy developed by our nTCE bispecific antibody platform. B-cell malignancies are currently one of the most common types of cancers in the clinics, and pose a serious threat to public health. Preclinical studies show that CM355 is very effective in the B-cell malignancies treatment. We will work with InnoCare and investigators to advance CM355 studies.”

On September 3, 2021, InnoCare and Keymed Biosciences signed a strategic cooperation agreement at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services to strengthen R&D collaboration between the two parties, aiming at developing First-in-class and Best-in-class innovative large molecular drugs to benefit patients.

About InnoCare

InnoCare is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing first-in-class and/or best-in-class drugs for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. We strategically focus on lymphoma, solid tumors, and autoimmune diseases with high unmet medical needs in China and worldwide. InnoCare has branches in Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, New Jersey and Boston.

About Keymed Biosciences

Keymed Biosciences is a biotechnology company focused on the in-house discovery and development of innovative biological therapies in the autoimmune and oncology therapeutic areas. We have established a fully-integrated platform encompassing all of the key functions in the biologic drug development, which enabled us to rapidly and cost-effectively identify, build, expand and advance our diversified pipeline. Keymed Biosciences has branches in Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai.

SOURCE: InnoCare