BRIEF—WuXi STA and Antengene ink development and manufacturing deal

STA Pharmaceuticals (WuXi STA) – a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec – and China’s biotech start-up Antengene Corp have announced a strategic partnership for the CMC development and manufacturing of innovative oncology drugs.

Under the terms of the collaboration, WuXi STA will provide Antengene an integrated solution in process R&D and manufacturing, using the MAH scheme to accelerate new drug development.

The collaboration will include both clinical stage and commercial projects – starting with Phase II/IIIcandidate ATG-008 and then further expand into three dominant areas such as solid tumor, hematological tumor and viral infection. WuXi STA will provide process R&D and manufacturing from APIs to drug product. Beyond that, Antengene and WuXi STA will also explore expanding the collaboration to commercial stage assets as Antengene prepares for the commercialization of its late-stage pipeline agents.

ATG-008 is currently in multi-regional clinical trial (MRCT) for the treatment of hepatitis B virus positive (HBV+) advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients (TORCH study). Patient enrollment started in July 2018.