Bayer has built a home for Chinese biopharma companies. Located in Beijing, the Bayer E-Town Open Innovation Center will incubate local biotechs starting with Puhe BioPharma and Youngen Technology.
The company broke ground on the site in 2023 and unveiled the facility earlier this year. Bayer shared details of the official opening Saturday, fleshing out its plans for the site to incubate local companies and help bring drugs discovered in China to global markets. China has become a major source of new drug candidates in recent years.
“China is increasingly becoming a key driver of global pharmaceutical R&D,” Anastasia Hager, head of drug discovery sciences at Bayer, said in a Nov. 15 statement. “The grand opening of the Bayer E-Town Open Innovation Center will further strengthen collaboration and allow more scientific breakthroughs from China to reach patients around the world.”
Staff at the E-Town facility will work with Bayer’s existing Co.Lab Connect Beijing to give local companies access to global resources and collaboration networks. Bayer envisages the site supporting the growth of local startups by further integrating them into the global healthcare system.
Puhe and Youngen are the first test cases for the model. Bayer struck a deal with Puhe in March to bag global rights to a small molecule PRMT5 inhibitor. A first-in-human study is underway in patients with MTAP-deleted solid tumors.
Multiple companies have identified PRMT5 inhibition as an anticancer mechanism. Amgen and Ideaya Biosciences have PRMT5 inhibitors in development, while BeiGene bought a spot in the race late last year. Meanwhile, Tango Therapeutics reported a setback to one of its PRMT5 inhibitors last year, driving it to pivot to other molecules that hit the target. GSK picked up rights to a PRMT5 program from Epizyme, only to ax the asset.
Youngen, the other initial E-Town occupant, is developing siRNA therapies for high blood pressure, lipid disorders and other diseases. As Youngen works to enter the clinic, Bayer Co.Lab will support its work.