Ascentage Receives Top Awards from the 14th Health China Forum

August 3, 2022

Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK) announced that the company’s lead asset, Olverembatinib (HQP1351), is selected as the number 1 in the Top Ten New Drugs in China by the 14th Health China Forum organized by People’s Daily Health APP, and Health Times, a paper affiliated with People’s Daily.  Also, the Forum selected Ascentage’s Chairman and CEO, Prof. Dajun Yang, as the number 1 in the Top Ten Business Leaders in Pharmaceutical industry in China.

Entering its fourteenth year, the highly regarded annual Health China Forum is one of the earliest and most influential industry events for the healthcare sector in China. The announcement of award winners is a much-anticipated part of the event garnering widespread interest from the industry.

The winners for this year were selected after a seven-month process of rigorous vetting and evaluation. These awards recognize leaders who have made profound impact on the advancement of the biopharmaceutical industry in China and to showcase the results of pharmaceutical innovation. The selections of Prof. Yang and Olverembatinib for top places in their respective categories indicate the industry and media’s strong recognition of Ascentage Pharma’s formidable capabilities in both drug discovery and clinical development.

The Top 10 Business Leaders in Pharma are chosen based on several key parameters including innovation, contribution to the overall development of the industry, as well as social credibility. As expressed by the event organizer, “Under Prof. Yang’s exemplary leadership, Ascentage Pharma has successfully executed a coherent strategy of global innovation and developed multiple drug candidates with global first-in-class and/or best-in-class potentials. These efforts meaningfully expanded the Chinese biopharmaceutical sector’s presence on the global stage, making Prof. Yang a truly distinguished leader of the industry in China.”

The Top 10 New Drugs in China are determined on a multitude of factors such as novelty, clinical utility, accessibility, and public awareness. As the first and only third-generation BCR-ABL inhibitor approved in China, Olverembatinib addresses a critical unmet medical need from patients with TKI-refractory chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) harboring the T315I mutation. Olverembatinib represents the successful Zero-to-One transformation of a China-developed innovative drug and symbolizes the expanding  role played by China’s scientific prowess across the world.
As the first approved third-generation BCR-ABL inhibitor in China, and the second in clinical development globally, Olverembatinib is being evaluated in a Phase Ib study in the US under the leadership of MD Anderson Cancer Center for the treatment of CML and has been granted one Fast Track designation and three Orphan Drug designations from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and one Orphan Designation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Demonstrating its global best-in-class potential, the clinical results of Olverembatinib have been selected for oral presentations at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meetings for four consecutive years since 2018, and was nominated for “Best of ASH” in 2019. Olverembatinib has also shown promise in other malignant and nonmalignant indications.Olverembatinib, a China-developed novel drug, is bringing clinical benefit to a growing number of patients around the world. In addition to advancing ongoing global clinical trials, Ascentage Pharma is deploying a range of innovative initiatives including recent initiation of a Named Patient Program (NPP) Olverembatinib to serve the patients in need across the globe.

Prof. Dajun Yang, the Chairman and CEO of Ascentage Pharma, is an industry veteran who has accumulated deep expertise from 30 years of experience in cancer research, apoptosis and novel drug development. Under his leadership, Ascentage Pharma is efficiently executing its strategy of global innovation, making strides with its R&D programs, and expanding its presence across the globe. Ascentage Pharma has built a portfolio of eight clinical-stage drug candidates and is currently conducting over 50 Phase I/II clinical studies in China, US, Australia, and Europe. To date, the company’s drug candidates have been granted a total of sixteen Orphan Drug designations by the US FDA and EU and two Fast-Track designations and two Rare Pediatric Disease designations by the US FDA.  and, in a record-setting achievement demonstrating the company’s capabilities in global R&D and operational excellence.