CStone Pharmaceuticals
CStone is a biopharmaceutical company focused on researching, developing, and commercializing innovative immuno-oncology and precision medicines to address the unmet medical needs of cancer patients in China and worldwide. Established in 2015, CStone has assembled a management team with extensive experience in innovative drug development, clinical research, and commercialization.
The company has built an oncology-focused pipeline of 15 drug candidates with a strategic emphasis on immuno-oncology combination therapies. Currently, CStone has received ten NDA approvals for four drugs. CStone's vision is to become globally recognized as a world-renowned biopharmaceutical company by bringing innovative oncology therapies to cancer patients worldwide.
Jiang formerly served as the chief of Asia-Pacific R&D for a French pharmaceutical company. However, CStone has just built a name for itself thanks to a Pfizer partnership. Pfizer paid $200 million in September for a 9.9% stake in CStone, with up to $280 million in milestones, in exchange for exclusive China commercialization rights to the biotech's lead candidate, PD-L1 antibody sugemalimab, even as the New York pharma's Merck KGaA-partnered PD-L1 inhibitor Bavencio is undergoing China-specific trials.
CStone's aim is to establish a cancer pipeline around three immuno-oncology backbone drugs: sugemalimab, CS1003, and CTLA-4 inhibitor CS1002. CStone reached outside to develop that combo pipeline. In June 2018, CStone acquired China rights to the gastrointestinal stromal tumor medication Ayvakit, the RET inhibitor Gavreto, and the FGFR4 inhibitor fisogatinib through a basket agreement with Blueprint Medicines.
Headquarters: Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
CEO: Frank Ningjun Jiang
Founded: 2015
Website: cstonepharma.com
