The Hangzhou Yuhang District People’s Court has released a document indicating that BJ Bioscience Inc.’s application for bankruptcy liquidation has been accepted for review. The Hangzhou-based firm becomes the first domestic biotech company to face insolvency this year.
Established in 2018, BJ Bio focused on research and development (R&D) of biologic drugs targeting tumors and infectious diseases. Its pipeline was led by BJ-001, a clinical-stage IL-15 fusion protein that received approval to enter a US Phase I clinical trial in 2019. The drug was also part of a clinical collaboration between BJ Bio and US pharmaceutical giant Merck, Sharp & Dohme, under which BJ-001 was being tested in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab).
In 2022, BJ Bio announced plans to relocate its R&D headquarters to Lingang in Shanghai, alongside its international R&D headquarters and manufacturing base. The company anticipated advancing 1 to 2 bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) into clinical trials in 2023 and planned an initial public offering (IPO) on Shanghai’s STAR bourse in 2024, when a Biologic License Application (BLA) would be submitted. The aim was to launch its second product in 2026.
However, there were signs of trouble at BJ Bio. In December 2023, the company’s founder, Zhang Haizhou, left to lead the pre-clinical research business department of contract research organization (CRO) Medicilon.- Flcube.com
