On September27th, 2018, Ahon Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.(Ahon), a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co.Ltd, (Fosun Pharma, SHA: 600196 and HKG: 02196) and DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. (TSX Venture: DMA)(OTCQB:DMCAF) entered into an agreement ,which allows Ahon to have an exclusive rights to register, develop and commercialize in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong S.A.R. and Macau S.A.R for DM199 (the Product).
Under the terms of the agreement, Ahon will pay up to US$32.5 million in license fee and sales milestones to DiaMedica.
DM199 is a recombinant human tissue kallikrein 1 (rh-KLK1). KLK1cleaves the low molecular weight kininogen to produce kinins thorough the known kallikrein-kinin system (KKS), causing many beneficial effects to ischemia including vasodilation, anti-inflammation, cell repair and decreased apoptosis, with a possible therapeutic window of 24 hours or above.
Stroke is caused by blood circulation disorder in the brain, which leads to abnormal brain function in a short period of time, including cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral ischemia. Stroke has already become one of the main reasons of death in China According to China Acute Ischemic Stroke Diagnosis and Treatment Guide 2010, its epidemiology study indicated an annual incidence rate of 1.5 to 2 million stroke patients in China, and as of the date of its publication, , there were more than 7 million stroke patients in China, among them, acute ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, which accounts for about 70% of the total number of strokes.
According to IMS MIDASTM, in 2017, the sales of the u-KLK1 product in the sample hospital in China is about RMB 310 Million.
With the acceleration of the aging population in China, stroke has placed a big burden on patient, family, society and healthcare settings. This cooperation will help to enrich the product pipeline of Fosun Pharma in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease areas, and also help to integrate the existing advantages of both sides to further meet the urgent need for drug accessibility and standardized treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke in China.
About Ahon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Ahon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a pharmaceutical company and focused on developing novel treatments for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseasecentral nervous system disease and tumor. Ahon established in 1999 and acquired by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group in 2011 and is one of the core member enterprises of the pharmaceutical sector. Ahon’s lead product, Aodejin, is for treatment of nerve function defect, caused by cerebral blood circulation and nutrition disturbance (ischemic injury and craniocerebral trauma), and has obvious advantages in the field of cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular drug market.
About DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. DiaMedica Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for neurological and kidney diseases. DiaMedica’s shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol “DMA” and on the OTCQB under the trading symbol “DMCAF”.