Hengrui Pharma is seeking to make medicines more available and affordable worldwide with the launch of Luzsana that opens up access to treatment for hundreds of illnesses.
Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine is seeking to make medicines more available and affordable worldwide with the launch of a new company that opens up access to treatment candidates for hundreds of illnesses.
Luzsana Biotechnology is a global healthcare company with 11 oncology and non-oncology programs in its pipeline, ranging from preclinical to Phase III. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals (Hengrui Pharma), the firm’s goal is to develop innovative therapies for commercialization in Japan, Europe and North America.
Luzsana’s name comes from the Spanish term “la luz,” which means light, and the Latin word “sana” which means to heal. Through close collaboration with its parent firm, Luzsana will have the ability to hand-pick assets from over 250 clinical studies under Hengrui Pharma’s umbrella and gain access to 16 research and development facilities that have more than 5,400 research specialists worldwide.
Hengrui Pharma’s pipeline covers areas of high unmet medical need in oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, pain, liver, metabolic and renal diseases. For now, eight out of 11 programs that Luzsana will work on initially lean toward oncology, but the company said it is looking to expand its scope in the future.
“Combining Hengrui Pharma’s established discovery and manufacturing capabilities with our robust global clinical trials network provides Luzsana with the potential to bring medicines to market quickly and at a competitive cost following regulatory approval without needing to make significant investments in high-risk, early discovery and infrastructure,” said Jeff Crowther, the president of commercial strategy and global operations at Luzsana, in a press release.
The new company will have offices in Basel, Switzerland, Tokyo, Japan and Princeton, New Jersey. According to the announcement, its leadership team is made up of professionals with an average of 25 years of experience in the industry.
“While the World Health Organization notes that there are 25 essential cancer medications, only 10% of countries have made all 25 available to patients. We refer to this as the healthcare paradox. We believe the most effective medicines are ones that people can use. That’s why we won’t rest until we get our medicines into the hands of those who need them most — no matter their geography or socioeconomic status,” Scott Filosi, the company’s CEO, commented in the same announcement.
“Combining Hengrui Pharma’s established discovery and manufacturing capabilities with our robust global clinical trials network provides Luzsana with the potential to bring medicines to market quickly and at a competitive cost following regulatory approval without needing to make significant investments in high-risk, early discovery and infrastructure,” added Filosi.
Luzsana and its initial projects will be shared at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting from June 3 to 7, 2022. The new firm will also be present at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in September.
