Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Simcere Pharmaceutical Group and HitGen Ltd announced today that they have entered into a license agreement on innovative drug discovery.
Based on the multi-year research collaboration agreement previously signed between two parties, HitGen has identified several novel and active small molecule leads by using its leading technology platform. This involved screening vast DNA encoded libraries, containing hundreds of billions of small molecules with drug-like properties synthesized on chemically diverse scaffolds. According to the license agreement, the leads are licensed exclusively to Simcere, who will carry out the subsequent development and commercialization work. HitGen is eligible for milestone payments based on the progress.
“This collaboration has accelerated early drug development,” said Dr. Hua Mu, Chief Scientific Officer and R&D president of Simcere. “Leveraging HitGen’s powerful technology platform, Simcere’s drug development experience and strong commercial presence in China, we hope to bring better medicines to Chinese patients.”
“We are delighted to partner with such an innovative company like Simcere,” said Dr. Jin Li, Chairman & CEO of HitGen Ltd. “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. We will work closely with Simcere scientists on drug discovery programme to address unmet medical needs.”
