AffaMed Therapeutics Announces Merger with EverInsight Therapeutics and Appoints Dayao Zhao, M.D., Ph.D. as CEO
October 14 2020 - 4:42AM
AffaMed Therapeutics (“AffaMed”), a biopharmaceutical company
focused on developing and commercializing transformative
therapeutics to address ophthalmologic and central nervous system
(CNS) disorders with high unmet medical need for patients in
Greater China and beyond, today announced a definitive merger
agreement with biopharmaceutical company EverInsight Therapeutics
(“EverInsight”).
This merger brings together complementary
businesses to expand AffaMed’s advanced portfolio of existing
assets, adding EverInsight’s pipeline of innovative therapeutic
candidates in CNS and ophthalmology and further strengthening the
company’s global R&D capabilities. The combined company, which
will retain the AffaMed Therapeutics name and the entity, will
focus on the development of therapeutics for ophthalmologic and CNS
disorders in Greater China and beyond. The two companies were both
incubated by CBC Group (formerly known as C-Bridge Capital) and
have established partnerships and licensing agreements with leading
global biopharmaceutical companies.
Dayao Zhao, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as
Chief Executive Officer of the combined company and will also join
the Board of Directors when the merger is complete. Wei Fu, Chief
Executive Officer of CBC Group, will serve as the Chairman of the
Board.
“Under the leadership of Dr. Zhao alongside our
high caliber management team with deep expertise in global
biopharmaceutical development, AffaMed is poised to become the
leading global company dedicated to therapeutics in ophthalmology,
neurology and psychiatry based in China,” said Wei Fu. “We look
forward to leveraging our combined R&D capabilities to advance
this strong portfolio of therapeutic candidates as we work to
create synergy and value for our shareholders.”
“EverInsight brings with it a strong team and
portfolio in neurological and psychiatric disorders, including its
neurosteroid nasal spray, PH94B, which is moving into Phase 3
development for social anxiety disorder with licensing rights from
VistaGen Therapeutics in Greater China, Korea, and Southeast Asia,”
said Dr. Zhao. “With this significant merger, AffaMed is well on
its way to leading the charge to efficiently bring innovation to
patients in Greater China from the rest of the world, positioned as
the partner of choice in ophthalmologic diseases and neurological
and psychiatric disorders, all growing disease areas with high
unmet medical need in the region.”
Dr. Zhao brings to this role decades of
biopharmaceutical leadership, having most recently served as CEO of
EverInsight, and prior to that CEO of Eucure Pharmaceuticals, where
he built a first-in-class clinical development team that
implemented programs worldwide. From 2016 to 2019, Dr. Zhao was the
General Manager of Pfizer’s China R&D Center overseeing 1,400
scientists located across Shanghai, Wuhan, and Beijing. He was also
head of the Development China organization, which is responsible
for all clinical development in China for the global markets. From
2011 to 2015, Dr. Zhao was the head of China R&D for Johnson
and Johnson’s (JNJ) pharmaceutical division, and prior to JNJ, he
was the Group Vice President at Genzyme, heading up its Japan-Asia
Pacific R&D where he was responsible for Clinical Development,
Pharmacovigilance, Medical Affairs and Regulatory Affairs. Prior to
his position at Genzyme, Dr. Zhao had worked for more than 12 years
in both discovery and clinical development at Pfizer Central
Research and led the CNS clinical development team in North America
at Novartis. Dr. Zhao received a Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School
and M.D. degree from Peking University Medical School.
AffaMed’s existing portfolio has strong presence
in ophthalmology, including rights in China and Singapore for
biosimilars referencing ranibizumab (Lucentis®), and aflibercept
(Eylea®) from Samsung Bioepis. AffaMed also has the Greater China
right of first negotiation and refusal for GB-102, an investigative
twice-per-year intravitreal pan-VEGF inhibitor in Phase 2b
development for the treatment of wet age-related macular
degeneration, by Graybug Vision (NASDAQ: GRAY).
In early October, AffaMed entered into an
exclusive licensing agreement with Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
to develop and commercialize KDT-3594, an agent for Parkinson's
Disease, in Greater China and Southeast Asia. After the merger, the
combined company will continue to in-license late stage assets to
augment its portfolio in ophthalmology, and neurological and
psychiatric disorders.
About AffaMed Therapeutics
AffaMed Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on
developing and commercializing transformative pharmaceutical
products that address critical unmet medical needs in
ophthalmology, and neurological and psychiatric disorders for
patients in Greater China and around the world. The management team
of AffaMed Therapeutics has deep industry expertise and an
extensive track record of high-quality clinical development,
regulatory affairs, CMC, business development and operations both
in China and with leading global pharmaceutical companies. AffaMed
Therapeutics was founded and funded by the CBC Group in 2019.
About EverInsight
Therapeutics
EverInsight Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical
company focused on the development and commercialization of
innovative drugs in ophthalmology, and neurological and psychiatric
disorders in Greater China and globally. EverInsight was founded
and funded by CBC Group in 2019.
About CBC Group
CBC Group (formerly C-Bridge Capital) is one of
the largest and most active healthcare-dedicated investment firms
in Asia focused on platform-building and buyout opportunities
across three core areas within the healthcare sector:
pharmaceutical & biotech, medtech and healthcare services.
CBC's operationally intensive approach empowers healthcare sector
champions to make transformative changes to enable sustainable
long-term growth, fulfill unmet medical needs and continuously
improve the standard of living and quality of care in China and the
rest of Asia. Founded in 2014, CBC has a strong team of investment,
healthcare and portfolio management professionals based across
Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and New York.
The CBC Group team comprises of a group of
talented professionals including seasoned investors, senior
executives and professionals from the healthcare industry, as well
as professional legal, financial and other operational support. As
entrepreneurs who empower other entrepreneurs, CBC Group aims to
achieve shared growth and alignment with portfolio companies
through its differentiated portfolio management model, which
includes assisting with operations management, alternative
financing channels, team building, strategy formulation and
business expansion. For more information, please
visit www.cbridgecap.com.
Media ContactsMedia in US and
Europe: Darcie Robinson Westwicke, an ICR company (203) 919-7905
darcie.robinson@icrinc.com Media in China: Edmond LococoICR Asia
+86 138-1079-1408 edmond.lococo@icrinc.com
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