Ascletis and Roche enter exclusive Pegasys partnership in China for viral Hepatitis
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SHANGHAI, HANGZHOU and SHAOXING, China, Nov. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Shanghai Roche Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Roche) and Ascletis BioScience Co., Ltd. (Ascletis, listed parent company stock code 1672.HK) jointly announce that starting from 1st Dec 2018, Ascletis and Roche will expand their partnership in viral Hepatitis. Following the first successful partnership and promising launch for Ganovo (Danoprevir), Ascletis and Roche have decided to embark on a Pegasys partnership. Roche will grant Ascletis an exclusive sales & marketing promotion right in Mainland China for Pegasys, a leading pegylated interferon treatment for Hepatitis B and C.
It is estimated that over 86 million* patients in China are chronically infected with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). Pegasys is a well-established pegylated interferon for viral Hepatitis with more than 15 years of branding in China. Leveraging on Ascletis' strong focus in the areas of viral Hepatitis, Ganovo success and strong Pegasys branding, Ascletis and Roche will be well-positioned to provide a complementary and comprehensive product portfolio to serve the high unmet medical needs for Chinese Hepatitis B and C patients.
"We are pleased to enter this strategic collaboration with Ascletis, a trusted partner with strong commitment to the area of viral Hepatitis, a major health concern in China. With this new model of business, we will further enhance the clinical usage of Pegasys in Hepatitis treatment in order to benefit more patients. Hepatitis B continues to be a core area of research and development at Roche. Roche has a long-term commitment to China and our investment in China continues to grow," said Hong Chow, General Manager, Roche Pharma China.
Jinzi J. Wu, PhD, Founder, Chairman and CEO at Ascletis added, "Roche has been an outstanding partner who has always put patients' needs first. Both Ascletis and Roche are committed to developing innovative Hepatitis B medicine. Ascletis has demonstrated strong development capability and solid commercial presence in China in the area of Hepatitis. The structure of this transformative collaboration will better serve China Hepatitis patients and create significant value for our shareholders. This marks a major step forward for Ascletis to address unmet needs of both Hepatitis B and C patients in China, which is in line with our strategy as a fully integrated China biotech leader focused on liver diseases."
About Pegasys
Pegasys (Peginterferon alfa-2a) is a modified form of interferon (IFN), a naturally occurring protein produced by the body to fight viruses, approved to treat HBV and HCV.
About Ganovo (Danoprevir)
Ganovo (Danoprevir) is an innovative Hepatitis C drug in-licensed from Roche in 2013 and fully developed and commercialized by Ascletis in China.
* Polaris Observatory Collaborators, et al. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018 Mar 26. (1)
SOURCE Ascletis Pharma Inc. 作者: StephenW 时间: 2018-11-21 13:45
Ascletis创始人,董事长兼首席执行官Jinzi J. Wu博士补充说:“罗氏一直是一位优秀的合作伙伴,始终把患者的需求放在第一位.Ascletis和罗氏都致力于开发创新的乙型肝炎药物.Ascletis已经证明了强劲的发展中国在肝炎领域的能力和稳固的商业存在。这种转型合作的结构将更好地服务于中国肝炎患者并为我们的股东创造重要价值。这标志着Ascletis向前迈出了重要一步,以解决乙型肝炎和乙型肝炎的未满足需求。中国的C患者,这符合我们作为一家全面整合的中国生物技术领导者的战略,专注于肝脏疾病。“