Startups
ChinaBio® Partnering Forum 2017: China's HEC Pharm enters America with novel IPF treatment
Tommy Lin, head of Business Development and Global Licensing for HEC Pharm outlines for Scrip’s Brian Yang how the Chinese domestic drug company looks to develop its liver drug in the US. On May 2, the Guangdong-based pharma announced the commencement of a Phase I study in the US for its HEC585 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). HEC585 is in the same class as Roche's (pirfenidone). In 2011, China FDA granted an approval to pirfenidone developed by Shanghai Genomics, now owned by Japanese bioventure GNI. As a generic drug manufacturer with 30 ANDA fillings in the US, HEC group surprisingly has a large R&D team numbering 1,600. The company aims to file 2–3 innovative new drugs each year to the US and China's regulatory agencies. This interview was recorded at ChinaBio® Partnering Forum organized by EBD Group and ChinaBio® Group in Zhuhai, Guangdong, in May 2017.