SHANGHAI, CHINA, Sept 15, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - On September 13, 2021, Hua Medicine (Shanghai) Ltd. (the "Hua Medicine", Stock Code: 2552.HK) has signed a supply chain strategic cooperation agreement with Sinopharm Group Co., Ltd. (the "Sinopharm", Stock Code: 1099). Under the agreement both companies will cooperate more closely in logistics warehousing, supply chain management and channel data analysis, and will jointly promote the commercialization of Hua Medicine's global first-in-class glucokinase activator (GKA), dorzagliatin, for its market launch in China. Dr. Li Chen, Founder and CEO of Hua Medicine, Ms. Wenjie Xu, Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Marketing, Mr. Yong Liu, President of Sinopharm, and Mr. Xudong Zhou, Vice President of Sinopharm attended the signing ceremony.

The strategic cooperation with Sinopharm is an important step for Hua Medicine to accelerate the deployment of commercialization and the launch of dorzagliatin in the market. Benefiting from the advantages of both Hua Medicine's pharmaceutical innovation capability and Sinopharm's channel network, supply chain system and logistics resources, the cooperation will further enhance the accessibility of dorzagliatin including improving the access of medicine to patients and expanding channel coverage in the market, so as to benefit more Chinese patients and promote accurate treatment of diabetes with full life cycle management. At the same time, this cooperation will also fully align with the "Healthy China 2030" strategy. According to the agreement, Sinopharm will make use of its advantages such as its nation-wide channel network and supply chain resources in China to provide professional pharmaceutical logistics services for Hua Medicine. Hua Medicine will rely on Sinopharm's nation-wide drug distribution network to carry out in-depth cooperation in supply chain management. On this basis, both companies will expand the possibility of further cooperation in channel informatization and other aspects.

Since last year, there have been several great news about the commercialization of Hua Medicine's new drug. In August 2020, Hua Medicine and Bayer AG, a global biopharmaceutical company and the leader in the field of diabetes treatment in China, established a strategic partnership to commercialize dorzagliatin in China.

In September 2020, the Company obtained the drug manufacturing permit for dorzagliatin and completed the requisite work for its commercial production. In December 2020, the Company entered into a commercial production and supply agreement with Raybow Pharmaceutical, the subsidiary of Zhejiang Jiuzhou Pharmaceutical. In March 2021, Hua Medicine submitted New Drug Application (NDA) of the first glucokinase activator dorzagliatin for type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients, and this application has been accepted by the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in April. In addition, Hua Medicine has established a manufacturing company to be based in the Shanghai Lingang Special Area to ensure adequate market supply for dorzagliatin.

Sinopharm is a leading distributor and supply chain service provider of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products in China, with a leading position in both wholesale and retail pharmaceutical markets. Sinopharm has more than 1000 branches and subsidiaries, covering 31 provinces and 388 prefecture-level cities across the country. Sinopharm also has professional marketing teams and services, realizing the full coverage of medical logistics in urban and rural areas in the whole country.

"We are very pleased to become a strategic partner with Sinopharm. This is of great significance for Hua Medicine's commercialization efforts. At present, the number of patients with T2D in China has reached approximately 120 million, and diabetes treatment has become a major health challenge affecting the health of many Chinese nationals. In the past 10 years, Hua Medicine aims to cure diabetes and has transformed the scientific concept of "Repair the sensor, restore homeostasis, and treat the underlying cause of diabetes" into a breakthrough drug for T2D patients. We are looking forward to work closely with the leading pharmaceutical distribution companies like Sinopharm to form a strong network capacity in logistics and distribution, so as to bring the world's first new drug, dorzagliatin, to Chinese patients as soon as possible." said Dr. Li Chen, founder and CEO of Hua Medicine.

"We are very glad to witness the strategic cooperation between Sinopharm and Hua Medicine, opening a new chapter on our cooperation. Sinopharm always adhere to our company philosophy of "All for Health, Health for All". In recent years, Sinopharm continue to innovate and build up the new ecosystem of the smart pharmaceutical and supply chain, improving the efficiency of supply chain. As the largest wholesaler and retailer of pharmaceutical and medical devices and healthcare products, and a leading supply-chain service provider in China, there are great potentials for our cooperation with Hua Medicine." said Mr. Liu Yong, President of Sinopharm.

About Dorzagliatin
Dorzagliatin is an investigational first-in-class, dual-acting glucokinase activator, designed to control the progressive, degenerative nature of diabetes by restoring glucose homeostasis in patients with Type 2 diabetes. By addressing the defect of the glucose sensor function of glucokinase, dorzagliatin has the potential to restore the impaired insulin and GLP-1 secretion of patients with Type 2 diabetes and serve as a cornerstone therapy targeting the root cause of the disease. Two Phase III registration trials for dorzagliatin monotherapy and the combination of dorzagliatin and metformin have been completed in China, as well as studies on drug mechanism synergy with sitagliptin (DPP-4 inhibitor) and empagliflozin (SGLT-2 inhibitor). The Company has obtained the "Drug Manufacturing Permit" of dorzagliatin issued by the Shanghai Municipal Drug Administrative Bureau, and has submitted its NDA to the National Medical Products Administration, so as to realize the "First in Global, Start from China" mission objective for the benefit of diabetic patients worldwide.

About Hua Medicine
Hua Medicine is a leading, innovative biotechnology company in China focused on developing novel therapies for diseases with unmet medical needs. Founded by an experienced group of entrepreneurs and international investment firms, Hua Medicine advanced a first-in-class oral drug for the treatment of T2DM into NDA stage and it has successfully completed two Phase III registration trials in China for dorzagliatin. The Company has initiated product life-cycle management studies of this novel diabetes therapy and advanced its use in personalized diabetes care. Hua Medicine is working closely with disease experts and regulatory agencies in China and across the world to advance diabetes care solutions for patients worldwide. Hua Medicine is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (stock code: 2552.HK)

About Sinopharm Group
Sinopharm Group was established in January 2003 and listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (stock code: 01099. HK) in September 2009. It is a core subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. and is the largest wholesaler and retailer of pharmaceutical and medical devices and healthcare products, and a leading supply-chain service provider in the PRC.

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