BRIEF—Simcere and HitGen make progress in drug development pact

Two Chinese firms, drugmaker Simcere Pharmaceutical and biotech HitGen, have finalized a license deal, expanding on a previous agreement to discover and develop novel therapies.

HitGen has identified several novel and active small molecule leads, which Simcere will carry through to development and possible commercialization. HitGen is eligible for milestone payments.

HItGen chief exec Jin Li commented: “The R&D strategy of Simcere is to develop first-in-class small molecule drugs and this matches well with the value of our DEL technology platform."

Simcere is focused on oncology, neurology, immunology, cardiovascular and infectious diseases.