On November 15, 2022 HUTCHMED (China) Limited ("HUTCHMED") (Nasdaq/AIM:HCM; HKEX:13) reported a corporate and strategic update, following an in-depth evaluation of the business (Press release, Hutchison Medipharma, NOV 15, 2022, View Source [SID1234624103]).

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In response to the challenging market conditions currently affecting the global biopharmaceutical sector, HUTCHMED has taken a number of decisions aimed at accelerating HUTCHMED’s path to profitability and establishing a long-term sustainable business.

HUTCHMED is proactively making a strategic shift to focus on the most advanced assets from its internal developed pipeline, that are most likely to drive near-term value. Accordingly:

HUTCHMED will prioritize its late-stage and registrational studies, to focus on bringing these assets through regulatory approval in particular the global registration of fruquintinib.
Selected early-stage studies will not be prioritized for internal development, and others will be considered as candidates for out-licensing opportunities, enabling the company to focus resources on its later-stage assets. As some related clinical trials wind down, HUTCHMED remains committed to ethical practices and patient care will continue to be our top priority.
HUTCHMED will seek potential partnerships to commercialize its assets outside of China, to accelerate the availability of innovative medicines for patients globally.
HUTCHMED will provide updates in due course with detailed decisions regarding specific programs and progress to streamline the organization, redeploying key talent in support of registrational studies and regulatory submissions.

In light of this strategic shift in focus, Dr. Michael Shi, currently Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer, China, will become responsible for clinical development globally. Under Dr. Shi’s leadership, HUTCHMED will remain highly focused on the regulatory submission and further development for fruquintinib, its lead international asset, following the successful multi-regional clinical trial results achieved in August 2022 from FRESCO-2, including its upcoming U.S. FDA New Drug Application filing. As part of this change in strategic focus, Dr. Marek Kania, Executive Vice President, Managing Director and Chief Medical Officer, International, will be transitioning out from his role with HUTCHMED.

Dr. Weiguo Su, Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of HUTCHMED, said:

"We believe that these prudent actions will ensure that we accelerate our path to profitability and therefore establish a sustainable business to support our future success. The challenging market conditions affecting biopharmaceutical companies across the globe require companies to be disciplined in their approach and, like many other companies, we have decided to make adjustments now to enable us to focus on the development of the products in our late-stage pipeline.

"On behalf of the Board and management team, I would like to recognize the contributions of everyone affected by our decisions and I remain grateful to our global team for their continued work towards HUTCHMED’s success. I would also like to thank Marek for his contribution to HUTCHMED, his role in establishing our presence internationally, and building a strong leadership team to accelerate the clinical development of several major programs.

"Our vision of becoming a global biopharmaceutical company remains unchanged, but we expect to fulfill this strategy by commercialization outside China primarily through partnerships. Regardless, we will continue to invest in global development to reach our goal of bringing innovative medicines to patients worldwide."