Manu’s Minute
East Meets West: Venturing in China
Not long ago, when an institution like OMRF sought partners to commercialize our investigators’ work, that search was bounded by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But that was then, and this is now.
Today, OMRF has licensed technologies to companies the world around—Israel, Japan, the United Kingdom and South Korea. Earlier this year, we added another country to this list: China.
In February, we entered into a deal with Shanghai RAAS Blood Products Co., Ltd. Under the agreement, Shanghai RAAS has the exclusive rights to develop and market novel drugs to treat hemophilia and traumatic bleeding based on technologies developed at OMRF.
The deal is built around an antibody developed at OMRF by Drs. Charles Esmon and Jun Xu. That antibody can selectively bind to and partially inhibit the function of activated protein C (APC), a natural anticoagulant. In hemophilia or blood loss caused by traumatic injury, blocking the function of APC is crucial, as bleeding needs to be slowed or stopped in the case of injury. However, this can also create life-threatening issues, as the continued flow of blood is essential to other bodily functions.
Shanghai RAAS is initially planning to develop the antibody as a treatment for hemophilia that can be delivered to patients by subcutaneous injection every few weeks. This would represent a major improvement and cost savings over the current standard of care, which requires multiple intravenous infusions each week.
This project is a natural fit for Shanghai Raas. Founded three decades ago, the company has grown to become the largest blood products company in China and Asia. Last year, Forbes listed it as 25th on the magazine’s “Growth Champions” list and 4th among “Most Innovative Companies.”
Going forward, we hope this deal will represent the first of many collaborations with the rapidly growing biotechnology sector in China. And we plan to keep adding new countries to our list.
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