This past week, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s 2019 (BIO-2019) International Convention attracted more than 17,300 top biotech innovators, researchers and visionaries across the globe at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. As one of the 1,800 exhibitors, Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Inc. (Henlius), along with Fosun Pharma (the parent company of Henlius), had an opportunity to connect with many biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies’ leaders who come together for one week of intensive networking to discover new opportunities and promising partnerships at the convention. Through back-to-back scheduled meetings , Henlius ended with more than 190 meetings with national and international partners and multiple possible leads for in-licensing, research collaboration or commercial right out-licensing conducting at the Henlius’ booth over the course of three-day exhibition. These discussions were primarily focused on advancing new approaches to science, including therapeutic biologics, technology platforms, and immuno-oncology combinations, and building robust partnerships to accelerate innovation. A large majority of these potential future partners has confirmed their interest in continuing an in-depth conversion with Henlius after BIO-2019.
Since the first rituximab biosimilar being approved by China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on February 22, 2019, Henlius has been recognized as a rising star by many companies worldwide. Attendees who had previously not familiar with Henlius were quite impressed by its pipeline in both biosimilar and bio-innovative antibodies and expressed interests in collaborating with Henlius in a variety of ways. Dr. Weidong Jiang, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder at Henlius, stated that “there is no shortage of excitement, innovation or ideas, particularly when it comes to affordable and effective treatments”. Jiang agreed, noting that Henlius had a daily flow of 40+ interested visitors and organizations ranging from potential global drug developers to branding Clinical Research Organizations dropping by at the booth.
When Ms. Ping Cao, Vice President of Business Development at Henlius, was asked by the BIO organizer “what will be the objective for Henlius at the next BIO-2020 in San Diego?” Ping shared some words of excitement: with many productive meetings accomplished at BIO-2019, Henlius has made connections with a handful of potential collaborations and partnerships especially in the USA and Europe. Henlius purses every opportunity to help patients, caregivers, regulators and the industry as working together to impact affordability of effective treatments. BIO-2020 will be a great opportunity for Henlius to continue connecting with global partners. Henlius looks forward to welcoming the BIO-2020 back to California where one of its R&D facilities is located in the Bay Area.
Henlius pressed forward with global footprint in recent years. Since its inception in 2010, Henlius has built an integrated and efficient global R&D platform with key facilities in Shanghai, Taipei and California. The three R&D centers closely collaborate with each other to ensure a highly productive and cost-efficient R&D process. On the product side, HLX02 (trastuzumab injection), one of the major products, is the first biosimilar developed in China to enter a multi-jurisdictional Phase 3 clinical trial in China, Poland, Ukraine and the Philippines. HLX02 received a New Drug Application (NDA) acceptance from the NMPA in April, 2019. Moreover, with global quality standard, Henlius has proven track record of initiating strategic commercialisation collaborations with global leading pharmaceutical companies, which will enable Henlius to expeditiously capture market share through the established capabilities and partner resources. To this end, Henlius has entered into license and commercialisation agreements with multiple partners, including Accord, Cipla, Biosidus and Jacobson Medical. Henlius has entered into agreements for the licensing and commercialisation in over 82 jurisdictions and regions.