On October 30, Hong Kong-listed biopharmaceutical company EVEREST MED (01952) announced an agreement with Visara to obtain exclusive rights for the clinical development, production, and commercialization of VIS-101 in Greater China, Singapore, South Korea, and select Southeast Asian countries. This marks EVEREST MED's strategic entry into the ophthalmic treatment sector under its "dual-engine" strategy, following its expansion into nephrology and autoimmune therapies, signaling its official foray into the multi-billion-dollar ophthalmic blue ocean market.
Under the exclusive licensing agreement, EVEREST MED will pay a $7 million upfront fee (approximately RMB 49.7 million) and up to RMB 24 million in reimbursement for self-funded expenses. Potential development and sales milestone payments could reach up to $89 million (around RMB 632 million), along with potential royalties based on net sales.
"Leveraging our robust clinical development capabilities and commercialization platform, we aim to accelerate the clinical development and commercialization of VIS-101—a potential best-in-class bispecific biologic—in China and Asia, delivering this innovative treatment to patients as soon as possible," said Yongqing Luo, CEO of EVEREST MED.
VIS-101 is a novel bispecific biologic targeting VEGF-A and ANG-2, demonstrating superior efficacy compared to first-generation therapies. It holds promise for treating wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO) with longer-lasting therapeutic benefits. The drug has completed initial safety and dose-escalation studies in the U.S. and China and is currently undergoing a randomized, dose-ranging Phase II trial in China. It is expected to advance to Phase III trials by 2026.
Dr. Emmett J. Cunningham, Jr., Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Visara, stated, "VIS-101 has the potential to become the second drug in its class to market, with best-in-class attributes due to its superior bioengineering design, enabling stronger target neutralization."
The ophthalmic drug market has seen rapid growth in recent years. Data shows that the global anti-VEGF ophthalmic drug market was valued at approximately $23 billion in 2024 and is projected to exceed $40 billion by 2030. Retinal disease drugs are a key growth driver, with significant unmet clinical needs. In China alone, the number of existing and new wet AMD and DME patients exceeds 15 million, with about 600,000 new cases annually. However, only around 500,000 patients currently receive anti-VEGF therapy, highlighting a vast unmet demand.
Existing anti-VEGF treatments require frequent injections and short treatment intervals, leading to low patient adherence and high dropout rates. There is an urgent need for better solutions.
Luo emphasized that VIS-101, with its high differentiation and commercial potential, enriches EVEREST MED's late-stage pipeline and expands its business into the ophthalmic sector—a blue ocean market with unmet clinical needs and innovation opportunities—providing new growth momentum.
Notably, Visara is a subsidiary of NewBridge Pharmaceuticals (formerly I-Mab, Nasdaq: NBP), in which EVEREST MED is currently the largest shareholder.
"Licensing VIS-101 rights in Greater China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia to EVEREST MED is a key step in optimizing our global commercial strategy and enhancing clinical development synergy. We look forward to collaborating with EVEREST MED to advance this product in Asia," said Xiyong Fu, CEO of NewBridge Pharmaceuticals.
EVEREST MED also revealed plans to build multiple blockbuster commercialization platforms under its "dual-engine" strategy, supported by proprietary CAR-T and mRNA cancer vaccine platforms, to drive breakthroughs in commercialization. The company will continue focusing on high-potential therapeutic areas and introducing promising products to strengthen synergies within its core portfolio.
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