T cell immunotherapy is at the forefront of cancer treatment. Kite Pharma is currently leading the global tumor T cell therapy research and development field. Its main product KTE-C19 is a researched chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy product for the treatment of relapsed and refractory B-cell lymphoma and leukemia. It is currently in the clinical stage of research and development. This product is also the first product to be introduced in this cooperation.

The Sino-foreign joint venture will be registered in Shanghai, and Fosun Pharma and Kite Pharma will each hold 50% of the shares. According to the terms of the agreement, Fosun Pharma intends to invest US$20 million in cash, and Kite Pharma will use its products and proprietary technology for the exclusive right to use it at a price of US$20 million, each accounting for 50% of the joint venture. Fosun Pharma will pay another US$40 million to the joint venture to pay for related patent and technology fees. The joint venture will pay Kite Pharma a milestone payment of US$35 million and a sales commission for the KTE-C19 product based on the progress of research and development and market conditions.  

“We are committed to providing the world's leading tumor immune cell therapy technology for cancer patients in China", said Arie Belldegrun, chairman, president and CEO of Kite Pharma, "the establishment of the joint venture accelerates Kite Pharma’s entry A very important market like China helps us achieve the important goal of global influence. Fosun Pharma is a leading biomedical innovation company in China and an active market development company. It is our ideal partner to promote the commercialization of KTE-C19 products in China. We look forward to your joint efforts to meet the huge unmet need for treatment in the Chinese market. ”

In December 2016, Kite Pharma announced that it had submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a rolling approach on KTE-C19 as a treatment for patients with refractory aggressive B-cell NHL Application. In the future, the joint venture may continue to introduce follow-up products under development by Kite Pharma, including KITE-439——expressing TCR cell therapy products that directly target human papillomavirus type 16 E7 oncoprotein, and KITE-718—— expression targeting melanin TCR cell therapy products for tumor antigen A3 and melanoma antigen A6 (antigens commonly found in solid cancers such as bladder cancer, esophageal cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer).

“There is a huge unmet need in the field of cancer treatment in China. The cooperation with Kite Pharma is of great significance, marking that Fosun Pharma has taken an important and strategic step in establishing a T cell immunotherapy platform in China. One step will help us provide the world's leading cancer treatment for patients in need. "Chen Qiyu, Chairman of Fosun Pharma, said, "In addition, Kite Pharma's tumor immune cell therapy products have a significant synergistic effect with Fosun Pharma's existing products. ”

Just two days ago, on January 9, 2017, Kite Pharma announced a strategic cooperation with Daiichi Sankyo. The two parties will work together on the development and commercialization of KTE-C19 products in Japan. The down payment plus milestone cooperation More than 200 million US dollars to revolutionize the treatment of cancer patients in Japan.

Fosun Pharma will become another important partner of Kite Pharma in Asia following its strategic cooperation with Daiichi Sankyo to jointly develop the Japanese market.

China is the world's second largest pharmaceutical market after the United States. With the increase in morbidity and mortality, cancer has become the number one killer in the field of diseases in China, with more than 4 million new cases every year and 2.8 million deaths from cancer. The five-year survival rate of a variety of high-incidence cancers in China is significantly lower than that of the United States. Among them, cervical cancer, lymphoma and leukemia all have a survival rate difference of nearly 40%. According to the latest forecasts, nearly 73,000 new cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) are diagnosed in China each year. Among them, the largest type of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the lymph with the largest number of patients, very aggressive, and rapidly developing disease. One of the tumors, refractory patients have very limited clinical options and huge unmet needs. The KTE-C19, which was first introduced this time, is currently leading the world in clinical progress, and it is very hopeful that it will be approved by the US FDA first to provide a solution that can greatly increase the overall remission rate for patients with this type of lymphoma.

Chen Qiyu said that innovation and R&D has entered the era of precision medicine. Fosun Pharma has continued to increase R&D investment in recent years, and the targets of R&D and innovation have gradually focused on this. Especially in solving tumor problems, Fosun Pharma has kept pace with the global forefront. Technology, committed to providing patients with the most comprehensive and optimal diagnosis and treatment technology and treatment plan.

As early as 2009, Fosun Pharma launched the R&D of monoclonal antibody drugs. It is now a domestic industry leader. In the fields of lymphoma, breast cancer and other cancers, Fosun Pharma’s monoclonal antibody R&D platform has recovered Honghanlin has made important progress in research and development. Its first type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma indication and its second type of breast cancer indication have both entered the phase III clinical stage. The first KTE-C19 introduced this time will be strongly complementary to the monoclonal antibody drugs targeting CD20, covering the entire B-cell lymphoma treatment stage, and providing a complete solution for Chinese patients.

Fosun Pharma is constantly exploring new cooperation models in the process of building a closed loop of the tumor precision medicine industry. From the traditional product introduction model, we gradually try to use the cooperative model of cooperative research and development, production and sales to participate more in the research and development process of the world's leading technology. At the end of 2016, Fosun Pharma and the global leader in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery, Intuitive Medical Devices, Inc. announced the formal launch of a strategic cooperation. A joint venture was established in Shanghai to develop, produce and sell robot-assisted catheter technology for early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Innovative products. This will provide doctors with innovative precision diagnosis and treatment tools, thereby improving the level of medical care and benefiting lung cancer patients.

Guo Guangchang, Chairman of Fosun Group, the controlling shareholder of Fosun Pharma, said: “Products and technology are deeply integrated, and technology drives Fosun’s evolution; this is Fosun’s core growth engine now and in the future. Fosun values ​​and dares to increase investment in innovation and R&D. We also require that all areas must also incorporate technological factors into development, whether it is the construction of Fosun Art Center with dozens of patents or the use of big data to create One Fosun A unified middle and back office support system. Among them, I feel that the R&D and innovation led by Fosun in Big Health is the most important. On the one hand, we started to deploy a global R&D platform connecting China and the United States seven years ago, and now we have seen the dawn of a breakthrough; on the other hand, Fosun chooses to cooperate with the world’s best and most mature R&D teams and companies to jointly promote the industry Technological advances, such as the acquisition of Gland Pharma in India, the establishment of a joint venture company in Shanghai with the American Intuitive Medical Device Company, and today’s cooperation with Kite Pharma. Through these cooperations, I believe that Fosun Pharma and these companies will be able to generate stronger chemical reactions in scientific research, and promote great progress in the cause of human health with joint efforts and wisdom. ” 

About Kite Pharma

Kite Pharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of new cancer immunotherapy products, and focuses on autologous transplantation cell therapy (eACT™) to repair the immune system's ability to recognize and eliminate tumors. Kite Pharma is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. For more information about Kite Pharma, please visit www.kitepharma.com.  

About KTE-C19

Kite Pharma’s main research product KTE-C19 is a treatment under researchTreatment method, which can make the patient's T cells express chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to target CD19 antigen (a protein expressed on the surface of B-cell lymphoma and leukemia cells), and guide T cells to kill cancer cells. KTE-C19 has been recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a breakthrough in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), transforming follicular lymphoma (TFL) and primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) Breakthrough Therapy Designation, and was included in the DLBCL Priority Drug (PRIME) approval plan by the European Union.