A global, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company – Harbour BioMed (HBM) and a leading structure-based, integrated drug discovery platform – Viva Biotech declared a strategic partnership wherein both companies will collate their respective expertise in drug discovery and development to foster the incubation of innovative biotech startups. The motive of this strategic partnership is to amalgamate HBM’s Harbour Mice platform H2L2 and its experience in global research and development of innovative molecules with Viva Biotech’s structure-based early stage drug discovery services. Thus, innovative biotech startups will have access to next generation technologies that can facilitate the path between ideation to product while operating through scientific research and equity for service (EFS) model.

HBM has been developing innovative therapeutics in the fields of immune-oncology, immunologic diseases, and COVID-19. Since its establishment in late 2016, the company has made great strides through strategic collaborations and partnerships with reputed academic institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies across the globe. The

company’s internally discovered next generation ani-CTLA-4 antibody HBM4003 for solid tumors, based on its HCAb platform is already in phase 1 clinical trials. With operations in Cambridge, Rotterdam, Suzhou and Shanghai, the company integrates diverse next generation technologies including Harbour Mice, HBICE immune engager, and the Beacon Optofluidic System to significantly accelerate its discovery efforts for novel molecules.

Viva Biotech seamlessly provides drug discovery services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical customers across the world for their pre-clinical stage innovative drug development. The company combines conventional cash-for-service (CFS) and unique equity-for-service (EFS) approaches to realize a combination of short and long term innovation-driven returns. It also addresses the full spectrum of the customers’ needs for early stage drug discovery, entailing biological target protein expression and structure research, drug screening, lead optimization, and clinical candidate selection. Viva Biotech takes utmost pride in having served 438 pharmaceutical customers worldwide, working on 1200+ independent drug targets, delivering 13,700+ protein structures, and incubating 46 early-stage biotech startups till 2019.

“We are excited to combine our capabilities with those of Viva Biotech’s to offer innovative startup companies’ access to our next generation technology platforms and unique R&D capabilities. We are always on the lookout for innovation that can positively impact human life, and this partnership will allow us to enable the translation of such ideas to products that have global impact,” asserts Dr. Jingsong Wang, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Harbour BioMed. He adds, “Some of these innovative startups may become the next big biotech in the industry. We look forward to supporting them in multiple ways, including mentoring, alongside HBM’s and Viva Biotech’s management teams”.

Dr. Delin Ren, President, Viva Biotech, articulates, “The strategic partnership between Viva Biotech and Harbour BioMed makes up for Viva Biotech’s deficiency in transgenic mouse platforms for generating fully human monoclonal antibodies, and will further enhance the scalability of Viva Biotech’s business model, thereby strengthening its ability in attracting and incubating more innovative startups”.