MaKe | MaHui Member YuYan Partners with Ipsen to Jointly Develop New Cancer Drug

On July 11, 2024, Ipsen and Yuyan announced an exclusive global licensing agreement for FS001.

FS001 is a potential first-in-class ADC that has demonstrated preclinical efficacy across multiple solid tumors, with favorable safety profiles and an excellent therapeutic window in animal studies.

This novel tumor antigen was discovered by Yuyan's proprietary high-throughput, integrated translational proteomics and AI-driven screening platform, through analysis of a large collection of well-characterized clinical tumor samples. Currently, FS001 is in the final stages of preclinical development.

FS001 utilizes an innovative, stable, cleavable linker conjugated to a highly potent topoisomerase I inhibitor. It has also shown promising preclinical efficacy in multiple drug-resistant cancer models. The agreement grants Ipsen exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize FS001.

"We are pleased to add FS001 to our growing pipeline, marking the second ADC in-licensed by Ipsen this year. By leveraging cutting-edge proteomics technology and an AI screening platform, the Yuyan team has discovered a completely novel therapeutic target, further unlocking the potential of ADCs to treat more patients with refractory cancers," said Mary Jane Hinrichs, Senior Vice President and Head of Early Development at Ipsen. "As we prepare to initiate Phase I clinical trials, we will evaluate FS001 in selected solid tumor types, and we hope this will provide critical new treatment options for cancer patients around the world."

"Our strategic partnership with Ipsen provides strong validation for our approach to discovering and developing fully innovative therapeutic products using our high-throughput, integrated translational proteomics platform," said Professor Catherine Wong, Founder and Chairman of Yuyan. "We are delighted to partner with Ipsen to advance FS001 globally. Ipsen has a strong track record in accelerating the clinical development and commercialization of innovative therapies. We believe FS001 has the potential to treat multiple cancers as a monotherapy or in combination with standard of care."

Yuyan is an emerging biotechnology company backed by Source Code Capital, HSG, CMB International, and other prominent investors, having raised over RMB 100 million in funding. Source Code Capital was the company's seed-round investor. The team has pioneered a high-throughput, integrated translational proteomics platform supported by an AI-powered data analysis system to accelerate the discovery of entirely new targets for clinically relevant therapeutics and diagnostics.

Professor Catherine Wong, Founder and Chairman of Yuyan, is a world-leading proteomics expert, and the team comprises several outstanding returnee PhDs. Starting from clinical needs, the company designs cohorts to obtain high-quality, high-depth, multi-dimensional panoramic proteomics information. It aims to deliver the most translationally valuable and precise innovative targets for patients and the industry, while elucidating true disease mechanisms to bring genuine new hope to drug development and patients.

Under this agreement, Yuyan is eligible to receive up to $1.03 billion. This includes upfront payments, development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on global sales following successful development and regulatory approval. Per the agreement terms, Ipsen will be responsible for Phase I preparation, including submission of the Investigational New Drug (IND) application, as well as all subsequent clinical development, manufacturing, and global commercialization activities.

Yuyan FS001 Project Core Team