China based Innovent Biologics, Inc., a world-class biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes high quality medicines for the treatment of oncology, autoimmune, metabolic and other major diseases, and US headquartered Sirnaomics Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company in discovery and development of RNAi therapeutics against cancer and fibrotic diseases, jointly announced that the two companies have entered a strategic collaboration to conduct clinical studies, using Innovent's antibody drug Tyvyt^® (sintilimab injection) and Sirnaomics' RNAi drug candidate STP705 (cotsiranib), for combination treatment in advanced cancers, such as Hepatocellular Carcinomas (HCC), with high unmet need in the US.

Tyvyt^® (sintilimab injection), an innovative drug jointly developed in China by Innovent and Lilly, was granted marketing approval by the NMPA for r/r cHL in 2018, and included in the 2019 Guidelines of Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology ("CSCO") for Lymphoid Malignancies. Tyvyt^® (sintilimab injection) has been the only anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody included in the NRDL since 2019.

Dr. Hui Zhou, Vice President and Head of Oncology Strategy and Medical Sciences of Innovent, stated, "Sintilimab was granted marketing approval by the NMPA in 2018 and has been the only PD-1 inhibitor included in the NRDL since 2019. Sintilimab has gained broad recognition by the market, due to its profiles in safety and efficacy. Through partnership with other companies, we are exploring more sintilimab-based combination therapies and have seen some promising results. Developing a combination therapy, comprised of an antibody drug and a RNAi drug, may provide more comprehensive and effective treatments for patients. The potential clinical value of the combination therapy of sintilimab and cotsiranib will be evaluated and we hope more patients will benefit from this potential therapy globally."

Patrick Lu, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sirnaomics, stated, "This collaborative effort between Sirnaomics and Innovent will be the first example of a combination strategy using an RNAi drug candidate together with an approved immune checkpoint antibody drug for the treatment of liver cancers. This represents an important clinical approach for combating these deadly diseases where the silencing of gene targets that reduce T-cell access and activity may augment the activity of checkpoint inhibitors in liver cancer."

Michael Molyneaux, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Sirnaomics, stated, "Sirnaomics is very excited to enter into this collaboration agreement with Innovent to potentially bring lifesaving therapies to patients with Hepatocellular Cancers. It is well known that, despite recent advances in cancer therapies, HCC is still a deadly form of liver cancer with high unmet need. Our pre-clinical Proof of Concept oncology data has consistently demonstrated single agent efficacy with STP705 in HCC and our most recent work on mechanism of action strongly suggest that the use of our lead asset (STP705) in combination with antibody therapies could greatly benefit patients with HCC. Innovent has a very strong track record for innovation and execution in the clinical space and a shared vision of bringing lifesaving therapies to their patients. We believe that combining Sirnaomics novel siRNA technology with Innovent's cutting edge antibody therapies has the potential to significantly improve the current treatment landscape for patients with Hepatocellular Cancer."