HitGen Announces Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Simcere Release Time：2018-04-20

Chengdu, China, Apr 20, 2018, Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (Simcere) and HitGen Ltd (HitGen) announced today that they have entered into a license agreement on innovative drug discovery.

 Based on the multi-year research collaboration agreement previously signed between two parties, HitGen has identified several novel and active small molecule leads by using its leading technology platform. This involved screening vast DNA encoded libraries, containing hundreds of billions of small molecules with drug-like properties synthesized on chemically diverse scaffolds. According to the license agreement, the leads are licensed exclusively to Simcere, who will carry out the subsequent development and commercialization work. HitGen is eligible for milestone payments based on the progress.

 “This collaboration has accelerated early drug development,” said Dr. Hua Mu, Chief Scientific Officer and R&D president of Simcere. “Leveraging HitGen’s powerful technology platform, Simcere’s drug development experience and strong commercial presence in China, we hope to bring better medicines to Chinese patients.”

 “We are delighted to partner with such an innovative company like Simcere,” said Dr. Jin Li, Chairman & CEO of HitGen Ltd. “The R&D strategy of Simcere is to develop first-in-class small molecule drugs and this matches well with the value of our DEL technology platform. We will work closely with Simcere scientists on drug discovery programme to address unmet medical needs.”

About Simcere Pharmaceutical Group

Simcere is a research and development-driven Chinese pharmaceutical company who owns a State Key Lab of Translational Medicine and Innovative Drug Development. Simcere is committed to bringing high quality and more effective therapies to patients by combining in house R&D with partnerships. Simcere focuses its efforts on therapeutic areas of oncology, neurology, inflammation/immunology, cardiovascular and infectious diseases. By leveraging partnering experience with multinational pharmaceutical companies and innovative biotech companies, Simcere continues to advance international medical scientific achievements transformation and create value for partners in China.

For more information, please visit www.simcere.com

About HitGen Ltd.

HitGen is a biotechnology company with headquarters and main research facilities based in Chengdu, China and with offices in the USA. HitGen has established a platform for small molecule discovery centred around DNA encoded chemical libraries (DELs). HitGen’s DELs contain more than 150 billion novel, diverse, drug-like small molecule and macrocyclic compounds. These compounds are members of DELs synthesized from many hundreds of distinct chemical scaffolds, designed with tractable chemistry, and yielding proven results for the discovery of small molecule leads against precedented and unprecedented classes of biological targets. HitGen is collaborating with over 40 pharmaceutical, biotech, and chemical companies and research institutes in Asia, North America and Europe to discover and develop approaches for novel medicines and agrochemical solutions. For more information, please visit www.hitgen.com

For further information, please contact

Dr. Jin Li, Chairman & CEO， HitGen Ltd. Tel: +86 28 85197385（Ext.8001)