Brii Biosciences Limited a multi-national company developing innovative therapies for diseases with significant unmet medical needs and large public health burdens, and TSB Therapeutics (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“TSB Therapeutics”), a joint venture majority-owned by the Company, announced the commercial launch of the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination, a long-acting COVID-19 neutralizing antibody therapy, in China. Today, the first commercial batch of the antibodies was released, marking an important milestone in the commercialization of the combination therapy.
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The amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination was approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in December 2021 for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients (age 12-17 weighing at least 40 kg) with mild and normal type of COVID-19 at high risk for progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death. The indication of pediatric patients (age 12-17 weighing at least 40 kg) is under a conditional approval. In March 2022, the National Health Commission of China added the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination to its COVID-19 Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines (9th Pilot Edition) (“Guidelines”) for the treatment of COVID-19.
On March 21, 2022, the National Healthcare Security Administration of China issued a notice to temporarily include the newly added drugs in the Guidelines in reimbursement by the provincial health insurance fund. Since March 22, 2022, the Healthcare Security Administrations of various provinces and cities have successively implemented the instructions of the notice and included the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination into the reimbursement of the local health insurance fund.
“We’re proud to bring the first locally-discovered and approved COVID-19 treatment in China to patients in need with the support and guidance of relevant government authorities. The global Phase 3 clinical trial demonstrated clear patient benefit with 80% reduction of hospitalization and death. In addition, the live virus and pseudovirus testing data from multiple independent labs demonstrate that the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination retains neutralizing activity against the live Omicron BA.2 subvariants prevalent in China and all previous variants of concern. These accomplishments reinforce Brii Bio’s scientific expertise in infectious disease and underscore our mission to tackle the biggest public health challenges with breakthrough innovation and insight. Our employees are the heroes who have given their all to achieving this great honor,” said Rogers Luo, President and General Manager, Greater China of Brii Bio, and Chief Executive Officer of TSB Therapeutics. “Our first priority will be to coordinate with our commercial partners to manage the distribution of the amubarvimab/romlusevimab combination in China to patients with the highest unmet need for our novel treatment to protect peoples’ lives.”