TNI BioTech and Hubei Qianjiang Pharmaceutical have entered into a partnership to develop new cancer therapeutics.
The cancer drugs will be based on TNI BioTech's patents covering Methionine Enkephalin.
TNI BioTech will carry out pre-clinical and clinical trials in China. The pre-clinical trials will evaluate the safety, tolerability and antitumor activity of Methionine Enkephalin.
Hubei Qianjiang will fund around Renminbi10m ($1,600,000) for pre-clinical work.
Hubei Qianjiang Pharmaceutical president Ye Jige said the alliance with TNI BioTech validates Hubei Qianjiang Pharmaceutical's business model of co-developing novel compounds as therapies for Chinese markets in conjunction with a US biotech company.
"The initiation of the pre-clinical trials for IRT-101 and IRT-102 in China is a significant achievement for the development of Hubei Qianjiang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and it represents both an important development milestone for this promising cancer drug and illustrates the benefits of Chinese and Western biopharmaceutical companies working together to efficiently carry out drug development," Jige added.
After the completion of the pre-clinical studies, TNI BioTech will seek SFDA approval for clinical trials, which will be funded by Hubei Qianjiang.
Methionine Enkephalin, which exhibited encouraging antitumor efficacy and a positive toxicity profile during Phase I and Phase II trials in the US, is expected to be marketed under the brand name IRT-101 and IRT-102 when approved in China.
