ESG | HitGen Achieves AA in Wind ESG Rating, Sustainability Efforts Earn Strong Market Recognition Release Time：2026-07-23

Recently, Wind Information released its 2026 annual ESG ratings for listed companies. HitGen Inc. (688222.SH, hereinafter "HitGen") was upgraded to an AA rating, ranking sixth among participating companies in the "Life Sciences Tools & Services" sector. This marks a high recognition from a leading domestic institution of HitGen's sustainable development practices and performance in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) areas.

The Wind ESG Rating is one of China's most recognized ESG evaluation systems for listed companies. Its evaluation framework covers 3 dimensions, 29 topics and over 2,000 data points, encompassing all China A-share and Hong Kong-listed companies as well as major bond issuers, totaling more than 12,000 companies. In recent years, HitGen's Wind ESG rating has shown a steady upward trend, reflecting the company's solid ESG practices and continuous progress . In addition, in the ESG rating released by Sino-Securities Index in May this year, the company also received an AA rating, further confirming the tangible effectiveness of its sustainability efforts.

Behind this market recognition, HitGen has successively obtained multiple international authoritative certifications, including ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System), ISO 9001 (Quality Management System), ISO 27001 (Information Security Management System), and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System), establishing a systematic and standardized management framework to fully support the balanced development across all ESG dimensions.

Environmental (E): HitGen integrates the concept of green development throughout the entire R&D and operations process. Environmental management covers core R&D activities such as drug discovery, DEL screening, and nucleic acid drug design and optimization. The company strictly regulates waste classification and disposal procedures, continuously promotes energy-saving retrofits and resource recycling in laboratories, and formally submitted a commitment letter to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) at the end of 2025, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the entire value chain in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C temperature‑control goal, thereby contributing to global climate action.

Social (S): HitGen is committed to building a responsible value chain together with customers, suppliers, and partners, fulfilling its corporate citizenship responsibilities through practical actions, and creating shared value for society. At the same time, the company always attaches great importance to talent development and employee care, continuously improving vocational training systems and health and safety protection mechanisms to constantly enhance employee satisfaction and sense of belonging.

Governance (G): HitGen has established a well‑regulated and transparent governance structure, with an efficient board of directors, a well-developed independent director system, and timely and accurate information disclosure. The company places high importance on protecting investors' rights and interests and consistently strengthens internal control and compliance management, ensuring scientifically sound decision-making and effective execution, thereby laying a solid foundation for long-term stable development.

Dr. Jin Li, Chairman of the Board and CEO of HitGen Inc., said: "As an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and optimization of novel molecules, we firmly believe that responsible business operations are the cornerstone of lasting success. In the future, HitGen will continue to deepen its practices to further improve ESG performance, integrate the philosophy of sustainable development throughout the entire chain of R&D, operations and services, empower global drug discovery with original innovation, and create long-term, robust, and sustainable value for all stakeholders."

About Wind ESG Rating

Wind Information has developed a rigorous rating methodology based on the core connotations of ESG, aligning with international standards and frameworks, and incorporating the characteristics of Chinese companies, to assess the company's essential ESG performance, risk and its ability to operate sustainably. Focusing on the ESG risks and opportunities of each industry, the companies are rated on a AAA-CCC scale relative to the performance of their industry peers. Wind ESG rating is updated annually or in response to major changes.

About HitGen Inc.

HitGen Inc. (SSE: 688222.SH) is dedicated to building a world-class innovative biopharmaceutical enterprise. Driven by the mission to advance human health and quality of life, it provides innovative therapeutic solutions to address unmet medical needs. Centered on its internationally leading DEL (DNA-encoded Library) technology, the Company has expanded into Fragment-Based Drug Discovery and Structure-Based Drug Design and a suite of complementary platforms based on Oligonucleotide-based Therapeutics, Targeted Proximity Drugs, and Cyclic Peptidomimetics, and has developed HAILO, a proprietary "DEL+AI+Automation" molecular optimization platform, thereby establishing a distinctive novel molecule discovery and optimization engine that delivers both therapeutics molecules and tool molecules to the global pharmaceutical industry. Headquartered in Chengdu, China, HitGen maintains subsidiaries in Cambridge, UK, and Houston, USA, with its operational network spanning the globe. Through diversified and flexible business models including technical services, project out-licensing and product sales, the Company has forged extensive collaborations with a broad range of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, chemical firms, foundations, and research institutions. As of the end of 2025, it has empowered over 600 clients globally and contributed to thousands of their innovative drug development projects. HitGen also advances multiple internal programmes at various clinical and preclinical stages. For more information, please visit www.hitgen.com.

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HitGen Releases 2025 Sustainability Report, https://www.hitgen.com/en/news-details-515.html