Apexigen and Shanghai Duyiwei Biotechnology Co. Ltd Sign a License and Collaboration Agreement to Develop and Commercialize APX004

BURLINGAME, Calif. and LONGNAN CITY, China, March 6, 2012  /PRNewswire/ -- Apexigen, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, and Gansu Duyiwei Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (GDBP), which is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange, today announced that they entered into a collaboration to grant an exclusive license to GDBP to develop and commercialize APX004 in China.   APX004 is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against VEGFR2 for the treatment of certain cancers and angiogenic diseases.  Under this agreement, GDBP will have an exclusive license and sole responsibility to research, develop and commercialize APX004 in China.  Apexigen retains all rights to APX004 outside of China and will collaborate with GDBP to advance the development program.  Under the terms of the agreement, Apexigen will receive an upfront payment, milestone payments on the successful achievement of regulatory milestones, and a royalty.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

"The pharmaceutical market in China today is very dynamic.  We are pleased to be partnering with Gansu Duyiwei for the development and commercialization of APX004 in this vibrant market.  We're looking forward to a productive partnership," said Dr. Xiaodong Yang, Apexigen's President and CEO.  

"During the last century, people often said that the century to come will be the biological science century.  The report of a survey from an American marketing research institute, Alt Assets, shows that the prospects for the global biotechnology industry are very promising. The sales revenue for products of the bio-economy, that is, products based on biological science and biotechnology, will exceed 15 trillion US Dollars in 30 years and the bio-economy will outrun the information economy and become the most powerful economic force in the world. The cooperation between Duyiwei and Apexigen will become a developmental milestone for Duyiwei. Based on its efforts, flexible mode of R&D and the continually increased investment on R&D, Duyiwei has the confidence and determination to constantly launch a series of original products in the near future to bring hope to the diseased and improve their quality of living," said Dr. Zhiping Duan, CEO of Gansu Duyiwei.

About Apexigen, Inc.

Apexigen, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of best-in-class antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases.  Apexigen has a robust antibody platform technology and a pipeline of seven humanized antibody product candidates.  Apexigen's proprietary antibody technologies produce a broad diversity of antibodies with high specificity and high affinity against unique epitopes.  It can successfully generate antibodies against challenging antigens where competing technologies fail.  This technology allows Apexigen to identify antibodies with unique functional characteristics for optimal therapeutic benefit.

Developing its product pipeline through collaborations is an important aspect of Apexigen's business model.  Several antibodies derived from its technology have been licensed to companies in China who are developing them for commercialization there.  In addition, Apexigen has also licensed the use of its antibody technologies to multinational companies for use in the development of therapeutics worldwide.  Additional information is available at www.apexigen.com.

About Gansu Duyiwei Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Gansu Duyiwei Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is located in Kang County, Longnan city , Gansu Province. As the first pharmaceutical company listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange in Gansu Province, the company has developed very fast in recent years.

As an important Chinese patent medicine and crude drug company based in west China, its development has been a strong impetus to the rapid development of the local economy. We made outstanding contributions to poverty in the western region. We have been awarded over the years with the titles of "high-tech enterprises in Gansu Province","a key leading enterprise of agricultural industrialization in Gansu Province, and "Longnan excellent enterprise". Our main product is "Duyiwei Capsule" and it has been named as a brand-name product in Gansu Province and a top-quality product in Longnan for three years.

Our products include 11 dosage forms and 32 varieties, most of which are Traditional Chinese Medicine, which provide therapy in the areas of Hemostasis & Analgesia, Cardiovascular system, Respiratory system , Nervous system , Urinary system and so on.

CONTACT:  Mark Nevins, +1-650-931-6236, ext. 502, [email protected]

SOURCE Apexigen, Inc.