SHANGHAI, China, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ: ZLAB), a Shanghai-based innovative biopharmaceutical company, and Novocure Limited (NASDAQ: NVCR) today announced that they have received the Deal of the Year Award at the 9th Annual BayHelix Awards Lunch Banquet held during the annual BioCentury-BayHelix China Healthcare Summit in Shanghai, China. The annual award recognizes a groundbreaking collaboration, technology transfer, licensing, capital raising, M&A or joint venture that involves a Chinese company in the healthcare sector. In September of this year, Zai Lab and Novocure announced a strategic collaboration and an exclusive license agreement in the field of oncology by which Zai lab would develop and launch Novocure’s Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) technology, under the brand name Optune®, in Greater China and to collaborate with Novocure in the global development of the product. TTFields is a cancer therapy that uses electric fields tuned to specific frequencies to disrupt cell division, inhibiting tumor growth and causing affected cancer cells to die. The agreement enables Novocure to access the Chinese market and is intended to accelerate clinical trial enrollment across multiple indications in oncology.
“This is a great honor for Zai Lab and highlights the ingenuity of our business development and execution teams to identify a proven, innovative technology that would be both beneficial to patients in China and a synergistic fit with our oncology pipeline and commercial infrastructure,” said Dr. Samantha Du, CEO of Zai Lab. “It is also an excellent opportunity to develop a long-term relationship with Novocure so that a win-win deal could be realized. We are very impressed with the efficacy and safety of TTFields in treating glioblastoma multiforme as well as with the Novocure team that has brought it to commercial success.”
Bill Doyle, Executive Chairman of Novocure said, “We thank the event organizers for recognizing the important strategic collaboration between Novocure and Zai Lab which we believe establishes a pathway for patients in Greater China to gain access to TTFields. Zai Lab shares our passion to bring innovative treatments to patients in need. I look forward to working with Samantha and the Zai Lab’s world-class team as we strive to make a meaningful difference in the way cancer is treated in Greater China. In addition, their strong interest in partnering to further develop TTFields on a global basis was very important and strategic for us. We look forward to many years of a successful collaboration.”
Zai Lab and Novocure held an Investor and Media event on Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. CT (1:30 a.m. EST) at the Jing An Shangri-La Hotel, Shanghai. A replay of the webcast will be available on the events page of the Zai Lab website at www.zailaboratory.com for 90 days following the live event.
About Zai Lab
Zai Lab (NASDAQ: ZLAB) is a Shanghai-based innovative biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing transformative medicines for cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases to patients in China and around the world. The Company’s experienced team has secured partnerships with leading global biopharma companies, generating a broad pipeline of innovative drug candidates targeting the fast-growing segments of China’s pharmaceutical market and global unmet medical needs. Zai Lab’s vision is to become a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company, discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing its partners’ and its own products in order to impact human health worldwide.
About Novocure
Novocure is an oncology company developing a profoundly different cancer treatment utilizing a proprietary therapy called Tumor Treating Fields, the use of electric fields tuned to specific frequencies to disrupt solid tumor cancer cell division. Novocure’s commercialized product is approved for the treatment of adult patients with glioblastoma. Novocure has ongoing or completed clinical trials investigating Tumor Treating Fields in brain metastases, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer and mesothelioma. Headquartered in Jersey, Novocure has U.S. operations in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Malvern, Pennsylvania and New York City. Additionally, the company has offices in Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Israel. For additional information about the company, please visit www.novocure.com or follow us at www.twitter.com/novocure.
About BayHelix
BayHelix is an organization of leaders of Chinese heritage in the global life sciences and health care community. BayHelix China Healthcare Awards are presented each year in five categories: R&D Achievement of Year; Deal of the Year; Commercial Achievement of the Year; Company of the Year; and Person of the Year. This is the fourth award that Zai Lab has received from BayHelix. In 2014, Zai La received China Pharmaceutical Awards-Alliance of the year. In 2016 and 2017, Dr. Samantha Du received the Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement awards, respectively. In 2017, Zai Lab also received the Company of the Year award.
Zai Lab
Billy Cho
+86 137 6151 2501
billy.cho@zailaboratory.com
Media: Nancie Steinberg / Robert Flamm
Burns McClellan, on behalf of Zai Lab
212-213-0006
nsteinberg@burnsmc.com / rflamm@burnsmc.com
Investors: Jill Steier
Burns McClellan, on behalf of Zai Lab
212-213-0006
jsteier@burnsmc.com