SIHUAN PHARM (00460) signs a cooperation agreement with American AbaloneBio to jointly develop a new generation of weight loss and muscle building innovative therapy, further deepening the layout in the GPCR target field.

SIHUAN PHARM (00460) announced that the group has officially signed a cooperation agreement with the American biotechnology company AbaloneBio (Abalone). According to the agreement, both parties will collaborate globally to advance the research and development of innovative new drugs for the treatment of obesity. The core objective of this research and development project is to target the metabolism-related G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to achieve safe and effective energy expenditure enhancement, while also maintaining or enhancing muscle mass. The aim is to address the limitations of current weight loss therapies and meet the clinical needs in the global obesity treatment field that have not been fully covered, in order to optimize and upgrade treatment approaches in this field. GPCRs belong to a large and dynamic family of membrane proteins, and their activity regulation requires precision in structural changes. Developing activating antibodies targeting such receptors has long been a recognized technical challenge in the pharmaceutical industry. Abalone, with its unique functional antibody screening technology platform, focuses on overcoming the challenges of regulating membrane proteins (especially GPCRs) and is capable of measuring antibody functional activity data on a large scale. Leveraging artificial intelligence technology, they conduct the discovery and design of activating antibodies with a clear technical roadmap and outstanding core capabilities. This collaboration will strictly follow the principle of "complementary advantages, mutual promotion": Abalone will provide its core technology and platform support in the field of GPCR antibody discovery; the group will contribute its research and development expertise in the metabolic disease field, as well as its full industrialization resources and mature business system in Greater China, to jointly drive the efficient progress of the research and development project, reduce R&D risks, and ensure the standardization and feasibility of the project from R&D to subsequent transformation. The group's collaboration with Abalone is built on a foundation of strategic investment made by the group in Abalone earlier this year. The signing of this cooperation agreement marks the extension of cooperation between the two parties from the capital level to the business execution level, which will further strengthen the group's innovative layout in the field of weight loss and accelerate the research and development progress of the new generation of weight loss and muscle-building therapies with the technical advantages of Abalone, providing support for the group's long-term strategic development. Furthermore, this collaboration is also an important step for the group to deepen its layout in the GPCR target field. Prior to this, the group had invested in the British company DJS Antibodies, which focuses on developing antibodies targeting GPCR targets based on its own technology platform. The company's technological value and research strength have been recognized by the industry, and it was acquired by AbbVie for $255 million in cash in 2022. The investment experience will also serve as a reference for the group's continuous deployment in the GPCR field.