Cell therapy brings a paradigm revolution that can bring hope for a cure to cancer patients. The first cell therapy product to be launched is Yikaida ® It's a good example. Cell therapy is a key focus of Fosun Pharma's future development During a recent interview with Zhang Wenjie, CEO and Chairman of Fosun Pharma, he stated that Fosun Pharma is focusing on niche markets with broad prospects in the pharmaceutical industry.

Just this month, Fosun Pharma announced that it will fully control Fosun Kate, which is planning to be renamed Fosun Carey and will serve as Fosun Pharma's core platform in the field of cell therapy technology, continuing to focus on the field of tumor immunotherapy. It is reported that Fosun Kate, located in Pudong, is planning to build the strongest and most comprehensive cell therapy pipeline in China and even globally.

Building a powerful CAR-T product pipeline

In recent years, with the success of CAR-T cell therapy and advances in stem cell therapy, cell therapy has gradually entered clinical practice and brought hope to many previously incurable diseases. According to market research and consulting firm Nova One Advisor, the global cell therapy market is expected to reach $4.85 billion in 2023 and exceed $37.42 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.67% over the next decade. The market size is steadily expanding. The market size of China's cellular healthcare industry is expected to reach 14.2 billion yuan in 2023, and is projected to reach 174.5 billion yuan by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 32.1% from 2023 to 2032.

Fosun Kite is a joint venture established by Fosun Pharma and Kite Pharma (a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences) in 2017, located in Zhangjiang, Pudong. Since its establishment, Fosun Kate has been committed to promoting CAR-T product accessibility. Yikaida ® As the first CAR-T product approved for market in China, Akilensai Injection has benefited over 700 patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma.

According to the latest announcement, after this transaction, Fosun Kate is about to enter a new stage of development. Fosun Pharma's subsidiary, Fosun Pharma Industries, plans to acquire 50% of the equity of Fosun Kite held by Kite Pharma through cash investment. After the transfer is completed, Fosun Pharma will hold 100% equity of Fosun Kate and intends to contribute $10 million or equivalent in cash as a single shareholder to increase Fosun Kate's capital.

In addition to the 50% equity transfer in this transaction, Fosun Kate has also comprehensively revised and restated the original license agreement with Kite Pharma and reached a revised and restated license agreement. Fosun Kate should pay a milestone of up to $35 million to Kite Pharma under the license agreement. At the same time, pay Kite Pharma a royalty fee ranging from 7% to 13% based on the annual net sales of all licensed products within the licensed area.

Currently, Fosun Kate is in a leading position in the Chinese cell therapy market. We are very hopeful that through this transaction, we can further build Fosun Kate, which will be Fosun Kerry's own pipeline in the future, and gain new development opportunities through this restructuring and capital increase. "Zhang Wenjie revealed that this equity transfer has brought greater independent development space for Fosun Pharma and Fosun Kate, enabling them to independently create Fosun Kerry products in the future. The company not only continues to obtain exclusive development, production, and commercialization of Yikaida in the field of cancer treatment within China and Hong Kong and Macao regions ® And the rights of Brexu Cel (Fosun Kate's ongoing project FKC889) will also be restructured to independently plan and build a strong CAR-T product pipeline.

For Fosun Carey, the next very important focus is to quickly build the strongest and most comprehensive cell therapy pipeline in China and even globally, "Zhang Wenjie further stated.

Plan to extend to a wider range of fields

Cell therapy is a strategic new track for the future of the biopharmaceutical industry, with the leading advantage of accelerating the formation of new quality productivity. Pudong is also gathering advantageous scientific and technological innovation resources to build a good industrial ecosystem. In the industry, two cell therapy products developed by Fosun Kite and WuXi AppTec were approved for market launch in 2021. Two Pudong enterprises have explored a feasible path for the production, evaluation, and commercialization of cell therapy products in China.

Zhang Wenjie believes that the domestic cell therapy industry is still in its early stages of development, but as a sunrise industry, "although it currently faces some challenges, there is huge room for future development. Fosun Pharma firmly believes in this field

At present, CAR-T products have been launched domestically, all focusing on the field of hematological malignancies. It is reported that Fosun Pharma, which fully owns Fosun Kate, plans to enter the research and development exploration of a wider range of fields such as solid tumors and autoimmune diseases. Blood tumors are only the first stage or step in the development of cell therapy as a whole. In the field of solid tumors, autoimmune diseases, and other broader areas, we have already seen very good signals and initial clinical data. Therefore, Fosun Carey will definitely actively participate in these treatment fields, "said Zhang Wenjie.

As a pioneer in China's CAR-T track, Fosun Kate strives to promote paradigm innovation in diagnosis and treatment, and develop more innovative possibilities. In the field of innovative payment, Fosun Kate has also pioneered the Yikaida in China ® Exploring a new development path for the payment model of high-value innovative drugs in China through the therapeutic value payment plan. Medication patients voluntarily join the project and undergo PET-CT efficacy evaluation 3 months after reinfusion of Yikaida. If complete remission (CR) is not achieved, half of the self paid portion (up to 600000 yuan) will be refunded to the patient. Since its launch on January 1, 2024, nearly 200 patients have been enrolled in the project. Fosun Kate CEO Chen Xingrong said, 'We are very pleased to see that Yikaida is currently...' ® The complete remission rate among patients who completed the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy according to the therapeutic value payment plan exceeded 58%, further enhancing the company's support for Yikaida ® Confidence and determination to promote innovative payments

It is reported that the clinical trial application for the third indication of Akilensai injection has been approved in China, targeting adult patients with relapsed/refractory indolent non Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r iNHL, including follicular lymphoma and marginal zone lymphoma).