On May 18, 2022 Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Hengrui Pharma) reported that it is launching Luzsana Biotechnology (Luzsana), a global, purpose-driven innovative medicines company committed to delivering medicines that are available, accessible and affordable to more people around the world (Press release, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine, MAY 18, 2022, View Source [SID1234614838]). Luzsana, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hengrui Pharma, is a global development and commercialization biotechnology organization. Luzsana has developed a strategic plan with Hengrui Pharma that provides the company access to a world-class pipeline of more than 250 clinical studies in areas of high unmet medical need, such as oncology, cardiovascular, metabolic/diabetes, pain management, immunology and liver and renal disease.
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The origin of the Luzsana name is rooted in "la luz," which is Spanish for light, and "sana," which is Latin for heal. Luzsana is a healthcare company that aspires to become a "healing light" across the biotech sector by prioritizing the well-being of all stakeholders it encounters while operating its business. With locations in Princeton, New Jersey, Basel, Switzerland, and Tokyo, Japan, Luzsana is being led by a highly skilled team of industry veterans who average more than 25 years of experience with success delivering global execution excellence and building, leading and commercializing products at scale.
"There are more innovative medicines than ever being developed across the globe, yet many people continue to face barriers in terms of availability, accessibility and affordability. For example, while the World Health Organization notes that there are 25 essential cancer medications, only 10% of countries have made all 25 available to patients.1 We refer to this as the healthcare paradox," said Scott Filosi, chief executive officer of Luzsana.
"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," said Filosi. "We’re confident the Luzsana mission can be brought to life because our unique partnership model has the potential to quantifiably reduce development costs thereby allowing us to invest in proven solutions that will drive innovative medicine availability, accessibility and affordability."
Through their unique relationship, Luzsana can partner with Hengrui Pharma to assess and hand select assets from Hengrui Pharma’s robust pipeline of more than 250 clinical studies across multiple therapeutic areas for global co-development and commercialization. Luzsana also will have access to 16 Hengrui Pharma research and development centers with more than 5,400 research staff. Luzsana has initially selected 11 high-potential oncology and non-oncology programs that span all phases of development, from preclinical to phase 3 for co-development. While the company’s initial pipeline is weighted heavily toward oncology with 8 out of 11 programs, Luzsana intends to further diversify its pipeline over time.
"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, president, commercial strategy and global operations at Luzsana.
Luzsana will share more details about its oncology pipeline at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, June 3-7 in Chicago (Exhibit Booth #27155). The company also plans to attend the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress 2022, September 9-13 in Paris, France.