Sirona Biochem Receives US$500,000 Payment from Wanbang Biopharmaceuticals

Sirona Biochem (TSXV:SBM) has announced it has received the US$500,0000 payment from Wanbang Biopharmaceuticals for approval by the China and Food Drug Administration for the company’s Phase I clinical trial of its SGLT-2 inhibitor.

As quoted in the press release:

Sirona’s SGLT-2 inhibitor, TFC-039, will continue to be developed for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Since the two companies signed a licensing agreement in 2014, Sirona Biochem has secured $1.5 million USD in development milestones from Wanbang.

Shortly after the announcement of the approval, Sirona CEO, Dr. Howard Verrico met with the Wanbang team at the Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Industrial Development Company Limited (“Fosun”) headquarters in Shanghai. The meeting focused on next steps in the development of “Wangeliejin”, the name for TFC-039. Wanbang expressed their full dedication to the SGLT-2 inhibitor project. The team also shared that while Wanbang has primarily focused on developing generic drugs, developing TFC-039 shows a need for such a medication in China and their belief in Sirona’s compound. They have heavily invested time and money into the first phase of testing and are dedicated to continuing through to market. Clinical trials are currently being set up and anticipated to begin as early as October – a milestone achievement for both teams.

Click here to read the full press release.