On July 5, 2024 Innovent Biologics, Inc. ("Innovent") (HKEX: 01801), a world-class biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes high-quality medicines for the treatment of oncology, autoimmune, cardiovascular and metabolic, ophthalmology and other major diseases, and IASO Biotechnology ("IASO Bio"), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in discovering, developing, manufacturing, and marketing innovative cell therapies and antibody products, reported the agreement on a series of cooperation, including IASO Bio’s purchase from Innovent regarding its relevant right of FUCASO (Equecabtagene Autoleucel) and obtaining license from Innovent regarding the intellectual property related to FUCASO, as well as Innovent’s equity investment in IASO Bio (Press release, Innovent Biologics, JUL 5, 2024, View Source [SID1234644690]).

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According to the agreement, IASO Bio will purchase Innovent’s relevant rights of FUCASO under the original "BCMA CAR-T Cell Therapy Cooperation Agreement" at the agreed price and Innovent will use the proceeds to acquire an 18% stake in IASO Bio. Under the new strategic cooperation framework, the parties will achieve high-level integration in the field of cellular immunotherapy. IASO Bio obtains global commercial rights and the intellectual property license for FUCASO and will be fully responsible for development, manufacturing and commercialization of the product, while Innovent becomes a strategic shareholder of IASO Bio.

FUCASO was jointly developed by Innovent and IASO Bio and was approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on June 30, 2023 to treat relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) patients who have undergone at least 3 lines of prior treatment and progressed. FUCASO is the world’s first approved fully human CAR-T product, as well as the first approved BCMA CAR-T product in China. On March 28, 2024, FUCASO received the investigational new drug (IND) application for treating RRMM patients who have undergone 1-2 lines of prior therapies and are refractory to lenalidomide. In 2024, its IND application for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) has also been approved in both China and the United States.

Dr. Michael Yu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Innovent, stated: "We appreciate IASO Bio for their expertise, innovation, and strong execution capability in the field of cell therapy. We believe that the new collaboration model will better leverage our mutual strengths and resources. The new model will endow more integrated resources and dedicated team in the full chain of manufacturing, development and commercial operation of CAR-T cell therapy as a special novel modality. Also, we will continue to support IASO Bio as a strategic shareholder. We look forward to working with IASO Bio to improve the accessibility of medications and bring hope to patients worldwide."

Ms. Zhang Jinhua, Founder, Chairwoman and CEO of IASO Bio, stated: "We extend our gratitude to Innovent for their recognition and trust in our research and development capabilities as well as our commercialization strength. Over the past six years, we have built a solid partnership with Innovent and witnessed each other’s innovation and growth in the biopharmaceutical field. We firmly believe that this new strategic alliance will bring significant synergistic effects to both parties. We can fully leverage our strengths and work together to advance innovative therapeutic solutions. We will remain committed to our original mission of bringing more innovative treatments to patients and look forward to achieving mutual success in our future strategic partnership with Innovent."