JW Therapeutics, a leading clinical stage cell therapy company in China that focuses on developing, manufacturing and commercializing breakthrough cell-based immunotherapies for hematological cancers and solid tumors, today celebrates the initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, S.A.R., China Limited.

"Listing on HKEX marks a very important milestone for JW Therapeutics," said Dr. James Li, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of JW Therapeutics. "The company was founded with a vision to develop breakthrough cell-based therapies to transform the treatment of cancer for Chinese patients. With cutting-edge technology platform and research capabilities, we look forward to continuing to invest in driving the full-scale commercialization of our core product candidates, advancing and expanding our pipelines, and enhancing our manufacturing and supply chain through innovation and scale."

Co-founded by Juno Therapeutics and Wuxi AppTec in 2016, JW Therapeutics is a leader in China for the development of cell-based immunotherapy, a field which represents a paradigm shift and the latest advancement in the treatment of cancer. Cell-based immunotherapies, including Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Immunotherapy ("CAR-T") treatments, is an innovative treatment method that uses human immune cells to fight against cancer. Supported by multiple clinical studies, cell-based immunotherapies could lead to long-lasting remissions of B-cell lymphomas and leukemia which are refractory to other treatments.

JW Therapeutics has built a comprehensive and differentiated cell-based immunotherapy pipeline, covering both hematological cancers and solid tumors. Relmacabtagene autoleucel ("relma-cel"), its lead product, is an anti-CD19 CAR-T therapy for third-line treatment for relapsed or refractory ("r/r") B-cell lymphoma. The New Drug Application (NDA) for relma-cel as a third-line treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma ("DLBCL") was accepted for review by China's National Medical Products Administration ("NMPA") in June 2020 and was granted priority review status in September 2020. Moreover, the NMPA also granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for relma-cel as a treatment for follicular lymphoma. Relma-cel is expected to be the first CAR-T therapy to be approved as a Category 1 biologics product in China.

In addition to being a leader in hematological cancer treatments in China, leveraging the integrated cell therapy platform to expand into the solid tumor market represents a key part of the future growth strategies for JW Therapeutics. The company has obtained access to the ARTEMIS? technology platform from Eureka Therapeutics. Through partnership agreement with Lyell Immunopharma ("Lyell"), the company plans to combine Lyell's technology with the ARTEMIS? technology platform to create a next-generation autologous cell therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma ("HCC").  

While there are currently no approved CAR-T product in China, with the potential launch of new products, the size of the China CAR-T market is expected to be RMB24.3 billion by 2030, according to Frost & Sullivan. The growth will be primarily driven by the increasing number of patients, improving affordability and favorable regulatory environment.

About JW Therapeutics

Co-founded by Juno Therapeutics and Wuxi AppTec, JW Therapeutics is a leading clinical and pre-clinical stage cell therapy company in China with an integrated platform focusing on developing, manufacturing and commercializing breakthrough cell-based immunotherapies for hematological cancers and solid tumors. JW Therapeutics' vision is to develop innovative cell therapies for the China market to transform the treatment of cancer for Chinese patients. The company has built a comprehensive and differentiated cell therapy pipeline covering both hematological cancers and solid tumors. Its lead product, Relma-cel, an anti-CD19 CAR-T therapy for relapsed or refractory ("r/r") B-cell lymphoma, is expected to be the first CAR-T therapy to be approved as a Category 1 biologics product in China.