The Group is expanding into the business of bioscience and is in the process of recruiting a team of life science executives with significant experience in bioscience assets development in China and South East Asia to cope with the new business development.

The Group has completed its first round of fund raising towards Promethera Biosciences S.A/N.V. (“Promethera Biosciences”) and establishd a joint venture with Promethera Biosciences, called Aceso-Promethera Asia Company Limited (the “JV Company”). The JV Company has obtained the exclusive right to engage in the development, commercialization, sell and distribution of cell-based and biological therapies for the treatment of liver diseases including Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF), Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) and Urea Cycle Disorder (UCD), autoimmune diseases and various types of cancer. The JV Company will commence a joint research with Itochu Corporation on the therapeutic use of certain IP and proceed with collaborating distribution, licensing and sales of certain products in Asia.

Promethera Biosciences S.A/N.V., Belgium, was founded in 2009 by Professor Etienne Sokal, a member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine and Professor at UCLouvain, together with the UCLouvain TTO Sopartec SA. Promethera Biosciences is a global innovator in liver therapeutics whose mission is to deliver to patients the life-saving treatments in order to reduce the need for liver transplantation. Promethera Biosciences’ lead product, HepaStem, is a next-generation cell therapy designed to leverage immuno-modulatory and anti-fibrotic properties to treat patients. In addition to its cell-based therapy product pipeline (HepaStem and H2Stem), Promethera is also developing the antibody asset Atrosimab to complement and diversify its liver focused pipeline.

HepaStem is a human allogenic liver-derived progenitor/mesenchymal type cell that is obtained from healthy, ethically donated human livers, isolated, expanded and pharmaceutically produced in qualified cGMP Promethera Biosciences’ manufacturing factories. HepaStem is being or has been applied to Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF), Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) and Urea Cycle Disorder (UCD). HepaStem’s phase 2a clinical trial for ACLF had been completed and the data was recognised as a late-breaking data presentation at the 2019 European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL). HepaStem is currently part of a potentially pivotal phase 2b clinical study in Europe in ACLF patients. In addition, Promethera Biosciences is preparing to file an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for HepaStem, for the treatment of COVID19-associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Europe.

Promethera Biosciences’ other assets include (1) H2Stem, a next-generation regenerative medicine derived from hepatobiliary type progenitor cells, (2) Novotarg, a pre-clinical stage CD95/CD20 bispecific antibody for the treatment of solid tumors, and (3) Atrosimab, a preclinical stage TNF Receptor 1 antagonistic monovalent antibody which will be deployed for the treatment of liver indications and other inflammatory autoimmune diseases.


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