HONG KONG, Oct. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- October 30, 2020, Ocumension Therapeutics (1477.HK) announced that the Company has entered into a collaboration and exclusive promotion agreement with Shandong Boan Biological Technology Co. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Luye Pharma Group Ltd. to jointly develop OT-702 (LY09004), a biosimilar to EYLEA® (Aflibercept). Ocumension has been granted the exclusive right to promote and commercialize OT-702 in China (for the purpose of the Agreement, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are not included). OT-702 is in phase III clinical trial and is the company's third line product to enter phase III in China.
OT-702 is a recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor receptor antibody fusion protein ophthalmic injection (a biosimilar to EYLEA®(Aflibercept)). OT-702 will be used to treat patients with neovascular wAMD, macular edema following retinal vein occlusion (RVO), diabetic macular edema (DME), and diabetic retinopathy (DR). As a soluble trapping receptor, OT-702 can bind to cytokines such as VEGF-A, VEGF-B and P1GF, inhibit the downstream signaling pathway of VEGFR, inhibit neovascularization, and reduce vascular permeability, thereby treating pathological neovascularization of the retina and choroid eye diseases. The head-to-head comparison of OT-702 to EYLEA® (Aflibercept) showed a high degree of similarity in both physical and chemical properties and biological activities. Phase I clinical trial showed that OT-702 has a good safety and tolerability profile with no signs of serious adverse reactions.
Mr. Ye LIU, the Executive Director and CEO of Ocumension Therapeutics said, "With the aging of China's population and a growing number of diabetes patients, the need to provide effective treatments for diseases such as wAMD and DME continues to increase as untreated eye disease can cause deterioration in vision and in some cases blindness. We are pleased to enter into the R&D and commercial cooperation of OT-702 with Luye Pharma. OT-702 complements and strengthens the company's posterior eye product line. It will also be used to form a McAb + fusion protein pipeline combination with OT-701 (a similar drug of raizumab) to fully cover anti-VEGF drugs for macular lesions. We will work with Luye Pharma to advance the clinical research and commercialization of OT-702 in order to deliver high quality domestic drugs to Chinese middle-aged and elderly patients with macular disease as soon as possible."
Mr. JIANG Hua, Vice President of Luye Pharma and CEO of Boan Biology said, "As a well-known ophthalmology company, Ocumension has a professional team and rich operational experience in the field of ophthalmology. This cooperation will give full play to our joint advantages in product development and commercialization, and accelerate the clinical trial and commercialization of LY09004 to meet the urgent clinical needs of Chinese patients. Not only that, we will also continue to develop this product in the United States, Japan, Europe and other major pharmaceutical markets around the world, hoping to serve more patients in need around the world."
About Ocumension Therapeutics
Ocumension Therapeutics is a Chinese ophthalmology platform company dedicated to identifying, developing and commercializing pioneering or best-in-class ophthalmic therapies. The company's vision is to provide world-class drug solutions to meet the huge demand for ophthalmology treatments in China. We believe that our ophthalmology platform with obvious first-mover advantage will give us a leading position in the ophthalmology industry in China. Up to now, the company has 17 kinds of drug assets in front of the eye and back of the eye, and has established a complete ophthalmic drug product line, four of which have entered phase III clinical trials in China. On July 10, 2020, Ocumension listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (stock code: 01477).
About Shandong Boan Biological Technology Co. Ltd.
Shandong Boan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Luye Pharma, is a comprehensive bio-pharmaceutical co., Ltd., established in Shandong, China in 2013. It has a complete integrated industrial chain from antibody production and precursor optimization, cell line establishment and process development, technology transfer, pilot production and commercial production. Shandong Boan has more than 10 products under research by virtue of its efficient and innovative internal capabilities, of which one product LY01008 bevacizu monoclonal antibody injection has applied for listing in China, one product is in Chinese phase III clinical trail and European and American phase I clinical trial, two products are in Chinese phase I clinical trial, and 10 innovative drug antibody projects for international intellectual property protection.
