ImaginAb Inc. and DongCheng Pharmaceutical Group Announce Plans for a CD8 ImmunoPET Commercial Partnership

LOS ANGELES and YANTAI, China, Jan. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ImaginAb, a market leading global biotechnology company, focused on developing next generation immuno-oncology imaging agents and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals (RPT), is pleased to announce it is working with DongCheng Pharmaceutical Group, to form a commercial partnership to bring ImaginAb's CD8 ImmunoPET agent, zirconium Zr 89 crefmirlimab berdoxam product, into the Greater China market. While zirconium Zr 89 crefmirlimab berdoxam will be initially used in third party sponsored clinical trials, the goal will be to achieve market authorization.

ImaginAb CEO, Ian A Wilson stated: "ImaginAb aim to be a leading global imaging and radiotherapy company, and as such, China is an important market for our products. We are pleased to be working with DongCheng to deliver our diagnostic imaging to cancer patients in China.

Our aim is to form a commercial partnership that will see us deliver our CD8 ImmunoPET agent to cancer patients in China. With DongCheng's vast experience in molecular imaging, they possess the technical experience and execution infrastructure to be an ideal clinical and commercial partner for ImaginAb in China."

DongCheng Pharmaceutical Group CEO, Grant Luo stated: "By partnering with ImaginAb, we are expected to bring in an ImmunoPET tracer to visualize cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment, which may help accurately select and monitor the appropriate population receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment and further promote the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments. 

We also hope to cooperate with clinical experts and pharmaceutical companies through our nationwide GMP nuclear pharmacies network, to help accelerate the clinical development and commercial launch of novel therapeutics with high clinical benefits and to address the patients' needs."

On signing of a definitive agreement, ImaginAb will receive a license fee and will be entitled to receive potential milestone payments and up to double digit royalties for the CD8 ImmunoPET License and Commercial Partnership for Greater China Market. No other terms were disclosed.

About ImaginAb

ImaginAb Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on developing radiopharmaceutical imaging and therapy agents. ImaginAb engineer antibody fragments called Minibodies that maintain the exquisite specificity of full-length antibodies while remaining biologically inert in the body. Used with widely available PET Imaging technology and therapeutic isotopes, these novel Minibodies bind specifically to cell surface targets, providing physicians with a whole-body picture of immune activity and the potential to treat cancer.

ImaginAb is advancing a diagnostic and therapeutic pipeline of Minibodies against both oncology and immunology targets. The Company is backed by top tier venture capital firms and strategic corporate firms including, Adage Capital, The Cycad Group, Norgine Ventures, TRC, Jim Pallotta of the Raptor Group, The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Merck (MSD) Pharma. 

About CD8 ImmunoPET

The 89Zr CD8 ImmunoPET agent (zirconium Zr 89 crefmirlimab berdoxam) is a 89Zr-labelled minibody that binds the CD8 receptor on human T cells and is used for quantitative, non-invasive PET imaging of CD8 T cells in patients. CD8 T cells are the main effector cells involved in the immune response against tumor cells induced by immunotherapies and they also play a key role in multiple autoimmune diseases. As such, quantitative imaging of CD8 T cells can be used to diagnose the immune status of a patient, to measure the efficacy of immunotherapies and predict patient outcomes.

About DongCheng Pharmaceutical Group

Founded in 1998 and listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2012. DongCheng specializes in the production, supply, and commercialization of radioactive tracers through the company's nation-wide PET and SPECT imaging radio-pharmacies. Sales network accounts for about 50% market share of PET tracers in China with penetration into 800+ hospitals / nuclear medicine departments.

DongCheng is devoted in the nuclear medicine industry, with a wide range of radiopharmaceutical products portfolio, strong R&D capabilities with robust pipeline, and radiopharmaceutical local supply and commercialization with multinational companies and leading institutions.

SOURCE ImaginAb