Neovii and Fosun Pharma: Exclusive agreement in China

Neovii Pharmaceuticals AG (“Neovii”), a Swiss based global specialty-care biopharmaceutical company, and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Industry Development Co. Ltd (“Fosun Pharma Industry”), a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. (“Fosun Pharma”, Stock Code: 600196.SH, 02196.HK), a global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry group deep-rooted in China, have entered into an exclusive agreement (the "Agreement"), under which Neovii has granted Fosun Pharma Industry an exclusive license to develop and commercialize Neovii's Grafalon® (rabbit anti-human T-lymphocyte globulin, ATLG) in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan region.

Under the Agreement Neovii is entitled to receive upfront, regulatory and commercial sales milestones as well as proceeds from supplying Grafalon® to Fosun Pharma Industry.

The parties' aim is to firstly strengthen Grafalon's position in the field of transplantation medicine in China, in which it is already approved for marketing and included in China's National Reimbursement Drug List. Further, the Agreement entails clinical development to expand Grafalon's regulatory approval in China to the prevention of Graft versus Host Disease following allogenic stem cell transplantation ("SCT"), so as to align its approved usages in China with those in Europe and other countries worldwide. Additional objective is to evolve Grafalon's usages from transplantation medicine to auto-immune and onco-hematology conditions, where Grafalon has the potential to positively-transform the lives of patients suffering from severe diseases with high unmet need. The Agreement also sets the foundation to expand the cooperation to additional products of Neovii, starting from NB-15, a novel, clinical-stage therapy that is under development for the treatment of Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyo- pathy (MNGIE), an ultra-rare, devastating and uniformly fatal disorder.

Wen Deyong, CEO of Fosun Pharma said: “Grafalon has an excellent effect in solid organ transplant recipients, especially those with a high risk of rejection. We are very pleased to be working with Neovii to bring this product into China. Going forward, we will leverage our advantages in nephrology and hematology and more areas to make the medicines accessible to patients and benefiting more Chinese patients.”

Dr. Christian Loss, CEO of Neovii said: “As a leading global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry group in China, Fosun Pharma is the ideal partner to develop and commercialize Grafalon in China. This collaboration positions Grafalon for sustained growth in China and advances the development in stem cell transplant and beyond as in devastating auto-immune and other diseases. We look forward to working with Fosun Pharma to bring Grafalon to more patients in-need in China”.