The pipelines of Chinese biotech companies are increasingly wooing the attention of Western companies, and immuno-oncology is a particular focus of attention. Last July, Beijing-based Beigene sold global rights to its programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) inhibitor in a $1.4-billion deal with Celgene of Summit, New Jersey. Many take Beigene's out-licensing deal as validation that China-led innovation can deliver on a global stage. It is certainly the biggest deal so far for a single asset from China. Other similar examples from Chinese biotechs over the past three years, especially immunotherapies, seem to prove the nascent industry's potential. Jiangsu Hengrui of Shanghai sold global rights to its preclinical PD-1 antibody inhibitor to Wilmington, Delaware–based Incyte for $795 million in 2015, and Suzhou's Innovent Biologics inked a billion dollar deal with Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly, also in 2015, for three bispecific antibodies targeting PD-1.
Dozens of domestic companies are also jumping on the PD-1 bandwagon, developing their own antibodies. No fewer than an estimated 88 PD-1/PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) clinical trials are underway in China according to the McKinsey report Building Bridges to Innovation (commissioned for the 4th BioCentury China Healthcare Summit in Shanghai that took place in November). Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo (nivolumab) and Merck's Keytruda (pembrolizumab)—are on track to become the first and second anti-PD1 antibody approvals in China. The home-grown counterparts to these best-selling checkpoint inhibitors may not have a first-in-class advantage as single agents, but as PD-1 is considered the backbone to a well-rounded oncology portfolio, these companies aim to become the must-have foundation for anti-cancer combination therapies.
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