(30 December 2022, Hong Kong, China) Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (“Boan Biotech” or the “Company”), a subsidiary of Luye Pharma Group, was officially listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (“SEHK”) today under the stock code 6955.HK at an offer price of HK$19.8 per share. The successful listing on SEHK marks the beginning of a new phase in the development of Boan Biotech, which will be empowered by capital to forge ahead with the goal of becoming a “leading global biopharmaceutical company”.
Founded in 2013, Boan Biotech is committed to developing, manufacturing and commercializing high-quality biologics in China and overseas. It offers innovative and accessible therapeutic solutions in the key therapeutic areas, including oncology, metabolism, autoimmunity, and ophthalmology. As a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company, Boan Biotech has established its competitive advantages with a differentiated product portfolio, a whole industry value chain system covering “R&D-production-commercialization,” and commercialization capabilities that continues to mature.
Differentiated Product Portfolio and Several Drug Candidates with First-mover Advantage
Leveraging its efficient internal innovation capabilities, Boan Biotech developed all its products in-house independently. Currently, its product pipeline includes a portfolio of innovative antibody candidate drugs and biosimilar drug candidates with international intellectual property protection. They provide a clear path for the short-term commercialization of the Company and lay a sound foundation for its long-term sustainable development.
Up to now, Boan Biotech has successfully commercialized two products: the first product, Boyounuo® (BA1101), is the third bevacizumab biosimilar approved in China for the treatment of various cancers. The second product, Boyoubei® (BA6101), is the world’s first approved denosumab biosimilar for the treatment of osteoporosis.
The Company also has 12 drug candidates, several of which are close to the commercialization stage: BA1102 (denosumab injection, Xgeva® biosimilar) for tumors, BA9101 (aflibercept intraocular injection, Eylea® biosimilar) for ophthalmology, and BA5101 (dulaglutide injection, Trulicity® biosimilar) for metabolism are currently in Phase 3 clinical trials in China, and their progresses of development are at the forefront. In addition, BA6101 and BA1102 are also in Phase 1 clinical trials in the EU. The Company expects to submit biologics license applications (“BLA”) for multiple drug candidates successively in the next two years.
In developing innovative antibodies, Boan Biotech pays attention to both "innovation value" and "commercial visibility" to build a product portfolio with differentiated features while accelerating R&D to gain more first-mover advantages. For example, BA1105, an ADCC-enhanced, fully human monoclonal antibody targeting Claudin 18.2 independently developed by the Company, has the potential to become the best targeted drug for the similar treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer, advanced gastric cancer and adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction. BA1106, a CD25 fully human monoclonal antibody, is the first anti-CD25 innovative antibody to enter the clinical stage in China for the treatment of solid tumors. BA2101, the anti-IL-4Rα fully human monoclonal antibody for autoimmune therapy, is the first new long-acting anti-IL-4Rα drug that has entered the clinical trial stage in China.
Key Strength Covering the Whole Industry Chain Underpinned by a Complete Biological Drug Operation System
Through years of accumulation, Boan Biotech has constructed a complete biological drug operation system starting from scratch. The Company has established three proprietary technology platforms, an integrated ecosystem from R&D to production and commercial operation, as well as an international professional team based in Yantai, Nanjing, Singapore and Boston, thereby laying a solid foundation for efficient development and excellent marketing of the product pipeline.
Through the three technology platforms, Boan Biotech has established a strong technological advantage. Utilizing BA-huMab® (a technology platform on which Boan Biotech has developed fully human antibody transgenic mice) and the Phage Display Technology Platform helps increase the efficiency of developing fully human monoclonal antibody products. Boan Biotech is also one of the few companies in China that own proprietary transgenic mice platform. Based on its monoclonal antibody products, the Company has progressively developed specialized drugs such as bispecific antibody and ADC through Bispecific T-cell Engager Technology Platform and ADC Technology Platform, forming a differentiated product portfolio.
Boan Biotech has a fully-integrated and scalable biopharmaceutical platform, covering a integrated chain of antibody discovery, cell line development, upstream and downstream process development, analytical and bio-analytical method development, technology transfer, pilot and commercial scale production. Furthermore, its strong CMC capabilities ensure high quality and cost efficiency of the entire drug development and commercial production process, and can shorten the drug development time and pave the way for product launch advantage.
Proven Commercialization Capabilities to Ensure Successful Marketing of Products
Boan Biotech is one of the few biopharmaceutical companies in China capable of executing the whole process from early drug discovery and development to eventual BLA filing and commercialization, and one of the few biotech companies to have two marketed products at the time of listing under Chapter 18A of the Listing Rules.
The first product of Boan Biotech, Boyounuo®, aimed at the huge demand for cancer treatment. Soon after the launch in May 2021, it achieved satisfactory sales performance and reached RMB159 million within eight months in 2021. In the first half of 2022, the sales amounted to RMB221 million.
Leveraging the successful launch of Boyounuo®, Boan Biotech has established an extensive commercialization network and mature commercialization capabilities. So far, its extensive distribution network has covered more than a thousand hospitals across the country. Moreover, through the commercialization of Boyounuo®, Boan Biotech has connected the “R&D-production-commercialization” process, laying the foundation for the accelerated launch and rapid volume hike of its subsequent drug candidates.
The second product of Boan Biotech, Boyoubei®, is used for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture. The product was approved for marketing in November 2022 and began nationwide sales at the end of the month. As the only domestic denosumab injection approved in China so far, Boyoubei® has a first-mover advantage in commercialization. The Company is well prepared in all aspects, including production, market access approval and sales, and will continue to improve the accessibility of Boyoubei®.
In addition, Boan Biotech actively cooperated with strong partners in the industry and leveraged their rich resources to maximize its products’ clinical value and market potential. For example, the Company granted AstraZeneca China the exclusive promotion rights of Boyounuo® in certain counties of various provinces, cities and autonomous regions in China. Boan Biotech also cooperated with OcuMension on the product development, promotion and commercialization of BA9101 in China.
Based in China and aspiring to become a "leading global biopharmaceutical company"
The successful listing on the SEHK not only marks an important milestone in the development of Boan Biotech, but also opens a new chapter for its next phase of development. Boan Biotech will continue its current robust growth by capitalizing on the development trend of the global biological drug industry, further accelerate the clinical development of its product pipeline in China and overseas markets, enrich its innovative antibody portfolio, strengthen its internal manufacturing capabilities and global commercialization capabilities, and actively explore various business collaborations in order to facilitate the Company's progression from a Biotech company to a Biopharma company.
Ms. Jiang Hua, Chairlady of the Board and CEO of Boan Biotech, said: "Today's listing is another new starting point in the development of Boan Biotech. Since the founding of Boan Biotech, we have been aspiring to become a 'leading global biopharmaceutical company', not just based in China. We look forward to serving the unmet medical needs of patients around the world with high-quality biological drugs made in China soon, thus contributing to the health of human beings with our strength."
Mr. Liu Dianbo, Executive Chairman of Luye Pharma Group, said, “The ‘biopharmaceutical strategy’ is one of the most important business strategies for the current and future development of Luye Pharma Group. We are pleased to see that, after years of accumulation, Boan Biotech has built up unique competitive advantages in the biological drug sector. We are very optimistic about the performance of Boan Biotech after its listing and will fully support its next phase of development by leveraging our group's profound industry experience. We also look forward to the continuous collaboration between Boan Biotech and other business segments of our group to implement our mission of ‘Professional technology serves human health’.”
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