2015年1月9日讯 /生物谷BIOON/ --随着中国医药市场与国际市场的接轨，中国本土医药公司也逐渐走出国门，受到海内外市场人士的广泛关注。
最近总部位于上海的华领医药宣布公司已经完成了一笔总额达2500万美元的风投融资。这笔资金将用于开发新型糖尿病药物疗法。值得注意的是，此次融资的投资方包括了中美两国许多专业风投公司。其中，Ally Bridge Group领衔此次融资过程，而美国的 Arch Venture Partners, Venrock以及中国的药明康德等重量级医药公司纷纷参与本轮融资过程。华领医药希望利用这笔投资推动公司开发的二型糖尿病药物sinogliatin完成临床二期研究。
华领医药的sinogliatin是其从著名制药巨头罗氏获得授权的第四代葡糖激酶激活剂药物。这种药物能够帮助人体激活体内的葡糖激酶从而使机体能够更好地识别葡萄糖并促使分泌更多的胰岛素进而降低血糖。
此前，默沙东等一些医药公司都尝试开发类似的疗法，但最终都折戟沉沙，但华领医药相信其能够在这一领域有所作为。目前华领医药正在中国进行sinogliatin的临床二期研究。研究人员在中国大陆招募了约280名患者，以研究sinogliatin治疗12周后对患者的降血糖作用。预计这一临床二期研究将在2015年底结束。不仅如此，华领医药还雄心勃勃的计划进军美国市场。公司将于今年开展sinogliatin在美国的临床一期研究。
华领医药此次融资对中国医药产业起到了非常积极的作用。一方面，与国际市场接轨，接受国际资本的投资有利于中国本土医药企业尽快发展壮大；此外，此次研发项目也将刺激中国本土医药企业进一步重视原研药的开发，进而促进中国生物医药产业成果转化和产品研发的进程。
详细英文报道：
Shanghai's Hua Medicine hauled in a $25 million B round to advance its work on a new treatment for diabetes, bringing in investors from the U.S. and China as it moves toward late-stage development.
Ally Bridge Group, based in Hong Kong and the U.S., led the funding round, joined by a syndicate that includes Arch Venture Partners, Venrock and WuXi PharmaTech ($WX), China's largest CRO. With the cash, Hua will pay the way through Phase II for its lead candidate, a Type 2 diabetes drug in the midst of Chinese trials.
The drug, sinogliatin, is a fourth-generation glucokinase activator in-licensed from Roche ($RHHBY), belonging to a class of therapies that help the body better recognize glucose and thus produce more insulin, lowering baseline blood sugars. Similar therapies from Merck ($MRK) and others never made it to market, but Hua believes its drug has a novel mechanism of action that sets it apart from its forebears in the space.
The plan now is to kick off a 280-patient Phase II trial in China, the company said, testing to see how well sinogliatin can reduce blood glucose at 12 weeks and wrapping up enrollment by the end of 2015. At the same time, Hua plans to begin developing of the drug in the U.S., filing an IND this quarter and completing Phase I studies by year's end.
Beyond its lead asset, Hua plans to spend some of its new funds on an early-stage candidate for central nervous system diseases, the company said, while bankrolling the preclinical development of its other pipeline assets.
Hua's fundraise illustrates a growing trend in biopharma: While Western outfits have long been interested in China's commercial appeal, more and more drugmakers and investors are now prizing the country's R&D capabilities. Merck, Sanofi ($SNY) and Novartis ($NVS) are among the many to blueprint standalone research hubs in China, while venture outfits including OrbiMed have turned a particular focus to biotech startups in the region.
And Hua, according to Ally Bridge founder Frank Yu, is emblematic of what the country has to offer on that front.
"Hua Medicine represents a great example of world-class innovation in China, where locally-developed innovative drugs at affordable prices are strongly needed, with the additional opportunity of taking such innovation overseas," Yu said.