Mabwell (688062.SH), an innovative biopharmaceutical company with entire industry chain, announced its wholly-owned subsidiary T-mab has entered into an agreement with Qilu Pharmaceutical for Albipagrastim alfa for Injection (R&D code: 8MW0511). Under the terms of the agreement, Mabwell will grant Qilu Pharmaceutical exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, improve, utilize and commercialize the licensed product in the Greater China (including Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). T-mab can obtain a total of up to RMB 500 million of upfront payment and sales milestone payment, and the royalty of up to double-digit percentage of net sales of licensed product.

Albipagrastim alfa for Injection is a recombinant (yeast-secreted) human serum albumin/human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (I) fusion protein for Injection. It is indicated to decrease the incidence of infection, as manifested by febrile neutropenia, in adult patients with non-myeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive anti-cancer drugs associated with a clinically significant incidence of febrile neutropenia.

Albipagrastim alfa is a new generation of long-acting G-CSF (highly active modified cytokine) with intellectual property rights of Mabwell, which was developed with albumin fusion platform technology by fusing highly active recombinant G-CSF with human serum albumin (HSA). The modification increases the molecular weight, significantly inhibits the elimination pathway mediated by G-CSF receptor and prolongs the half-life of the drug in vivo, which improves the treatment adherence by reducing the frequency of administration in clinical practice. Compared to PEG-G-CSF, Albipagrastim alfa uses HSA as its natural carrier protein via a Pichia pastoris expression system. This approach offers a simpler production process and superior product homogeneity.