Simcere Pharmaceutical Group entered into a research collaboration agreement with Stanford Medicine to jointly advance an exploratory study in the respiratory field, with the aim of developing innovative therapies for patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).

According to the agreement, Simcere Pharmaceutical will fund the exploratory research of this first-in-class novel molecule. Upon successful completion, Simcere will in-license the molecule and obtain 100 percent of the global rights to the resulting product.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with world-class chemical biology laboratories at Stanford Medicine led by Chaitan Khosla, PhD, and Cui Bianxiao, PhD, affiliated with the Stanford Innovative Medicines Accelerator.

Khosla is a professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Stanford University, an Institute Scholar of the Sarafan ChEM-H Institute, and Director of the Innovative Medicines Accelerator. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an expert in LYTAC-related technologies.

Bianxiao is a professor in the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University and a Fellow of the Wu Tsai Neuroscience Institute. She is an expert in fibrosis-related targets. She has received awards including the Biophysical Society's Barany Award and the NIH New Innovator Award.

Zhou Gaobo, Chief Investment Officer, Simcere Pharmaceutical, stated, "This marks the second first-in-class original project worldwide in collaboration between Simcere and Stanford Medicine. This ongoing collaboration reflects Simcere's active steps toward Innovation 2.0 and fulfills its corporate mission ('for patients, for life'). We look forward to jointly developing more innovative products to benefit patients."

IPF is a chronic, progressive interstitial pneumonia of unknown etiology, characterised by fibrosis that primarily affects the pulmonary interstitium, leading to stiffening and loss of elasticity of lung tissue, and ultimately resulting in respiratory failure. Current medical treatments cannot completely reverse pulmonary fibrosis; from the time of diagnosis, the median survival time of patients is approximately 3 years, with a 5-year survival rate of only 20-40 percent.

Professor Khosla stated, "Highly targeted therapies for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis have long been an urgent unmet clinical need. We are pleased to work with Simcere to advance the translation of chemical biology breakthroughs together."