Introduction

        Recently, there has been good news from Chengdu Origiant Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Origiant"), an enterprise in Chengdu Advanced Medical Science Center Park. The company's core product, ORIC-1940 Hydrochloride for Injection, is specially designed to treat hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), and has achieved phased results.

        At present, there is still a blank in the R&D of new drugs in this field worldwide. Once Origiant's new drug successfully hits the market, it will bring revolutionary breakthroughs in HLH treatment.

        Recently, the reporter Xiaotian visited Origiant and interviewed Huang Qi, co-founder and CEO of the company, to learn more about its R&D achievements and future planning.

        Origiant Pharmaceutical's ORIC-1940 Achieved Phased Results in Exploring the New Frontier of HLH Treatment

        Origiant, an innovative R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company, was officially settled in Chengdu Advanced Medical Science Center in July 2020. Since 2021, the company has been listed as a technology-based small and medium-sized enterprise for three consecutive years. 

        Origiant focuses on the R&D of small molecule new drugs in the field of major diseases such as immunity. Currently, its self-developed new drug products are all original new drugs on a global scale to meet the major unmet clinical needs of patients in China and worldwide.

      Recently, Origiant's innovative drug ORIC-1940 Hydrochloride for Injection (targeting HLH) has entered the clinical trial review stage.

        A study of patients revealed that among all age groups of HLH patients, the elderly HLH patients had the highest mortality rate of 58.8%.

       In fact, HLH is a pathological immune activation syndrome resulting from inherited or acquired immunomodulatory dysfunction characterized by uncontrolled activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes, natural killer cells and macrophages, leading to cytokine storms and immune-mediated damage to multiple organ systems.

       According to information obtained, the development of ORIC-1940 Hydrochloride for Injection is specifically targeted at these acute inflammatory reactions, aiming to suppress acute inflammation, control symptoms and avoid organ failure due to inflammatory reactions, and ultimately save lives.

        Currently, in the field of treating HLH, especially secondary hemophagocytic syndrome treatment, the standard first-line therapy was proposed in 1994 and has not been updated for the past 30 years. "We hope that the launch of this drug will change that and provide more effective treatment options," said Huang Qi.

       According to Huang Qi, it has taken more than three years for Origiant's new drug from project approval to clinical application and has achieved phased milestone achievements. If the clinical trial progresses smoothly, this drug is expected to be formally introduced to the market in the coming years.

     Once successfully marketed, this new drug will revolutionize the treatment of hemophagocytic syndrome.

       Where does the innovation lie in this core product? It is reported that Origiant has obtained the candidate compound ORIC-1940 with a new molecular structure based on its AI + new drug R&D platform. Meanwhile, ORIC-1940 has been proven to show good safety and can be used for symptomatic treatment of symptoms caused by excessive release of cytokines in HLH. It can significantly reduce liver and spleen weights, inhibit the decrease of red blood cells and platelets, significantly reduce the level of inflammatory factors, and greatly improve the survival rate of model animals after modeling.

        Filling the market gap and focusing on rare indications

      Nowadays, when it comes to new drug R&D, many people feel that this is a very competitive segment. For example, there are many pharmaceutical companies or biotechnology companies doing similar research in a hot target or therapeutic area.

       Huang Qi pointed out that the current market landscape of the pharmaceutical industry is extremely "competitive". He explained that competition is intense for some relatively mature targets and markets. There may be dozens or even hundreds of companies working on a hot disease or treatment area. However, in the remaining 80% to 90% of disease areas, few pharmaceutical companies are developing new drugs.

        In the face of such a current market landscape, Origiant chose a different path.

      "We don't aim to chase market trends, but rather to fill the market gap," Huang Qi said. He further explained that in these neglected areas, there are still a large number of patients with an urgent need for effective treatment but do not get enough attention from pharmaceutical companies.

       For example, HLH seriously endangers the lives of patients, but currently, there is a lack of effective drugs.

      Through extensive communication with clinicians, Origiant has learned that there are many clinical indications for which no drugs or good drugs are available. In the opinion of clinicians, the drugs for these indications are urgently needed and critical to patients, but have received little attention from pharmaceutical companies.

        Therefore, Origiant decided to focus on these areas that were neglected by the market and develop new drugs to benefit patients.

        Huang Qi said that the development of Origiant is inseparable from its strong founding team.

      When the company was founded, its team size was small with less than five employees. In just four years, the team expanded from a few people to about 40 employees today.

       In addition, the founding team boasts nearly 20 years of experience in new drug R&D in China. It has developed four candidate new drugs at the clinical stage and transferred them to pharmaceutical companies or biotechnology companies through authorization or cooperative development. It can be said that the team has accumulated rich experience in new drug R&D.

     Moreover, supported by the resources and platform of West China Hospital, Origiant can better understand diseases, indications, and clinical needs, which provides important guidance for its R&D.

        In fact, in the field of biopharmaceuticals, it is never an easy journey to develop new drugs.

     This is also true for Origiant, which has overcome many obstacles during its development. In the process of R&D, Origiant encountered many unexpected difficulties.

      Huang Qi shared an unforgettable case where the company had developed a promising new drug candidate. However, during the formulation study, it was found that its stability could not meet the standard. Although previous studies showed good efficacy and safety, the formulation problem forced the team to abandon the original scheme and start all over again.

      "The process of starting from scratch took more than half a year, but ultimately, we managed to develop a product that met all requirements," Huang Qi recalled.

      Committed to the application of AI technology in new drug R&D

      In the field of modern biomedicine, AI technology is gradually becoming a driver for new drug R&D.

      Huang Qi said, "The application of AI in new drug R&D is actually a part of computational chemistry.

      Since the 1950s and 1960s, scientists have been endeavoring to utilize computer simulations to study various properties of drug molecules, particularly the interaction between small molecules and receptors or targets, to predict and analyze their activities and metabolic properties."

      It is reported that the founding team of Origiant boasts a profound background and rich experience in the field of computational chemistry. Origiant is also using these tools to accelerate the R&D of new drugs, injecting new impetus into this field.

      Over the past two decades, Origiant's founding team has been working on basic research in this area and has developed a variety of algorithms and tools to accelerate the R&D of new small molecule drugs. The AI-assisted technology currently used by the company is independently developed by its founder and senior management team.

      The medals of honor serve as a testament. In the field of AI-assisted drug R&D, Origiant's innovative achievements have also been recognized. Its team won the First Prize of Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award for its project "New Design and Synthesis Methods of Original Small Molecule Targeted Drugs and Their Application in Drug Discovery".

       Talking about the development potential of combining AI with biomedicine, Huang Qi said: "The application of AI in new drug R&D will certainly improve efficiency and solve key problems. However, due to the limited data on new drug R&D, the application of AI in new drug R&D is currently not as adequate as that in other fields."

       Huang Qi explained that current deep learning methods require a large amount of data, but the scale of data accumulated in new drug R&D is far smaller than that in other fields, which limits the application of AI technology.

      However, Origiant does not stop at this point but aims to address the issue of insufficient data by incorporating the experience and rules of drug developers. Currently, it is dedicated to enhancing the application efficiency of AI in new drug R&D.
 

       "AI will certainly promote rapid development in the biomedicine field. Although the current performance in new drug R&D may not be exceptionally remarkable, as data continues to accumulate and technological innovations persist, the potential of AI in new drug R&D will gradually manifest," Huang Qi said with confidence.

      More products to be launched to provide effective new drugs for patients

      Why did you choose to settle down in Chengdu?

      Huang Qi explained, "I am very satisfied with the business environment and governance efficiency of CDHT. All kinds of problems encountered in the implementation process can be quickly and efficiently solved with the support from the parks and leaders."

      Chengdu boasts not only a superior business environment, but also rich medical and research resources.

      Huang Qi said: "West China Hospital, as a top hospital in China, provides not only continuous basic talent support but also great help for us to engage in the research of complex diseases. In addition, as a new first-tier city, Chengdu has the capability to attract top teams and talents, which is an important reason why the company chose to settle down here."

       Meanwhile, Huang Qi pointed out that new drug R&D is a high-risk and high-return endeavor, as well as an industry highly dependent on talent and funding.

       Huang Qi said frankly, "New drug R&D requires not only top scientific researchers but also excellent talents in all links. I hope to recruit more outstanding talents in the future."

       In addition, the financial problem is also an important factor restricting the development of the company. New drug R&D requires substantial financial support at every stage, from early research to clinical trials and marketing.

      Up to now, Origiant has completed two rounds of financing to basically meet the current capital demand. However, the demand for funding increases significantly as its products enter the clinical stage.

      Huang Qi stated that the company was raising funds in numerous ways, including continuous financing and co-developing with other companies, to ensure the smooth progression of future products.

     Looking ahead, Huang Qi said that Origiant plans to bring its core products into clinical or more critical stages in the next three to five years.

     He noted, "We hope to launch our products in the market as soon as possible through independent R&D and joint efforts with partners to provide effective new drugs for patients."