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Innovent Biologics seeks to bulk up metabolic disease drug pipeline

Chinese oncology drugmaker Innovent Biologics Inc. is hoping to diversify its product pipeline by exploring other therapeutic areas such as metabolic diseases, CFO Ronnie Ede said.

In an interview with S&P Global Market Intelligence after the company announced half-year results on Aug. 29, Ede said Innovent will continue to develop more drugs to treat metabolic diseases as well as look for licensing opportunities.

The Hong Kong-listed company recently agreed to develop and commercialize Eli Lilly and Co.'s diabetes drug candidate OXM3 to tap into China's growing market for the disease.

China has about 114 million people with diabetes, according to the company.That is much higher than the 30.3 million adult diabetes patients in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Judith Li, partner at private investment company Lilly Asia Ventures, which is backed by Eli Lilly and invested in Innovent Biologics, told Market Intelligence in June that metabolic disease treatments have strong potential for growth for China.

The Suzhou, China-based company has a total of 21 drugs undergoing clinical trials, 17 of which aim to treat various kinds of cancer. Four drugs are in late-stage clinical trials, while another three are being reviewed for approval by Chinese regulators.

Only one drug, Tyvyt, is commercialized and sold in the Chinese market as a cancer treatment.

Biosimilars outlook

During the earnings call on Aug. 29, investors and analysts also showed interest in knowing the prospects for the company's biosimilars of blockbuster drugs Humira, Avastin and Rituxan.

Ede said IBI-305, the biosimilar of Roche Holding AG's Avastin, or bevacizumab, and IBI-301, the biosimilar of Roche's rituximab, will make a significant contribution to the company's sales once they are launched, since Roche has not yet been able to meet demand for the two drugs in China.

Both Avastin and Rituxan are included in China's national drug reimbursement list, and it is possible that Innovent's biosimilars could be approved for the list as well, CEO Michael Yu said during the call.

When a drug is included in the reimbursement list, patients pay a highly reduced price for the drug, enabling greater patient access.

Avastin treats non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer, while Rituxan is a cancer and autoimmune disease therapy.

However, IBI-303, a copycat of AbbVie Inc.'s Humira, or adalimumab, is a "wild horse," Ede said. "[Humira] has not captured any meaningful market share in China yet," he said.

That is mainly because the drug is not included in the national drug reimbursement list, Ede said.

Humira is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and other illnesses.

Innovent plans to release the three biosimilars across 2019 and 2020. However, their combined sales are unlikely to outdo Tyvyt's contribution, said Ede.

Innovent reported revenue of 345.5 million yuan for the six months ended June 30. It did not book any revenue in the same period last year.

It did not generate any profit and reported a loss and total comprehensive expenses of 714.4 million yuan for the half year, compared to 57.6 million yuan for the same period last year.

Research and development expenses went up to 670.7 million yuan from 420.04 million yuan in the year-ago period.

As of Aug. 29, US$1 was equivalent to 7.14 Chinese yuan.