Simcere Pharmaceutical Group has entered into a research collaboration agreement with Stanford Medicine to advance an exploratory study in the respiratory field, aiming to develop innovative therapies for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Under the agreement, Simcere Pharmaceutical will fund the exploratory research of this first-in-class novel molecule. After its successful completion, Simcere will in-license the molecule and obtain 100% of the global rights to the resulting product.
The project will be conducted in collaboration with chemical biology laboratories at Stanford Medicine, led by Chaitan Khosla, PhD, and Cui Bianxiao, PhD, affiliated with the Stanford Innovative Medicines Accelerator.
IPF is a chronic, progressive interstitial pneumonia of unknown etiology, characterised by fibrosis of the pulmonary interstitium, resulting in stiffening and loss of elasticity of the lung tissue, which can ultimately lead to respiratory failure. Current medical treatments are unable to completely reverse pulmonary fibrosis; from the time of diagnosis, the median survival time of patients is 3 years, with a 5-year survival rate of 20-40%.
Zhou Gaobo, chief investment officer of Simcere Pharmaceutical, said, “This marks the second first-in-class original project worldwide in collaboration between Simcere and Stanford Medicine. This ongoing collaboration reflects Simcere’s active steps toward Innovation 2.0 and fulfils its corporate mission (‘For patients, for life’). We look forward to jointly developing more innovative products to benefit patients.”
Professor Khosla said, “Highly targeted therapies for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis have long been an urgent unmet clinical need. We are pleased to work with Simcere to advance the translation of chemical biology breakthroughs together.”
