LG Chem is joining hands with an innovative Chinese biotech firm to secure promising cancer drug candidates and expand its global oncology portfolio.
LG Chem said Wednesday that it has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with China's OTR Therapeutics to discover and develop cancer drug candidates.
Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly explore and evaluate cancer drug candidates being developed by Chinese biotech firms. LG Chem plans to secure licensing opportunities for candidates whose competitiveness is confirmed through the evaluation.
The joint development will proceed with OTR Therapeutics conducting preclinical and early-stage clinical development in China, while LG Chem leads global late-stage clinical trials and commercialization. The strategy combines China's fast-paced research and development environment with LG Chem's clinical development and commercialization capabilities.
OTR Therapeutics, based in Shanghai, conducts its own research and development and open innovation businesses in the areas of oncology, immune and inflammatory diseases, and metabolic diseases. China is emerging as a major supplier of global drug candidates, backed by government support for new drug development and improvements in clinical regulations. According to JP Morgan's China biopharma report, candidates developed in China accounted for approximately 30% of the global innovation pipeline last year.
Sohn Ji-woong, head of LG Chem's Life Sciences Business Division, stressed, "We have strengthened the foundation to systematically discover and verify promising candidates in China," adding, "We will proactively secure superior candidates to enhance our global competitiveness."
