On April 20, the reporter learned from Chengdu HitGen Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "HitGen") that HitGen recently reached a new drug project transfer agreement with Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (hereinafter referred to as "Simcere").

According to relevant reports, Simcere is a leading R&D-driven pharmaceutical company in China and has the national key laboratory for translational medicine and innovative drugs. By combining independent research and development and foreign cooperation, it focuses on major diseases such as tumors, nerves, rheumatic immunity, infection, etc. This new drug project transfer agreement was reached on the basis of a previous agreement of many years' standing on DNA Encoded Compound Library screening. As per the agreement, HitGen shall transfer several screened novel and active small molecule compounds exclusively to Simcere, and Simcere shall take over the subsequent drug development and commercialization.

"There is plenty of complementarity between Simcere's R&D strategy for class I innovative small molecular drugs and HitGen's value for DNA Encoded Compound Library screening technology platform," said Li Jin, Chairman of HitGen Inc., noting that after concluding the R&D cooperation agreement on new drugs, HitGen and Simcere will make concerted efforts on implementing new drug R&D projects in order to meet clinical needs as soon as possible. "This cooperation is based on much complementarity between our advantages, which has accelerated our initial progress in new drug R&D projects," said Mu Hua, Chief Scientific Officer of Simcere Pharmaceutical Group. He believes that as the cooperation deepens and by virtue of HitGen's proven track record in research and development, registration and marketing in China, it will be able to offer better drugs to Chinese patients in the future.