Drug Research and Development Business

Hutchison MediPharma's development activities are focused on two target therapeutic areas: auto-immune/inflammatory disorders and oncology. Currently, Hutchison MediPharma has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer drug candidates in the US and Chinese clinical trials and a pipeline of early stage leads. The discovery portfolio consists of botanical candidates, semi-synthetic natural product drugs, and synthetic single chemical entity projects.

During 2007, two novel small molecule compounds were selected for development, HMPL-010 for psoriasis and HMPL-011 for auto-immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. HMPL-010 is a novel chemical entity that blocks activation of NF-kB and is positioned as a topical treatment for psoriasis. HMPL-011 is a small molecule cytokine modulator that controls the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and has been found to be effective in animal models of rheumatoid arthritis as well as a number of other inflammatory conditions. Both compounds are currently in preclinical evaluation.

In addition, the Group continued to execute against its goals of building a sustainable project portfolio and significant progress has been made on a number of other early stage projects. These projects are positioned for candidate selection throughout 2008 and beyond in the oncology and inflammation therapeutic areas. During 2007, six cases covering three new invention patents were filed in China and the US. Notice of allowance for two patent applications has been received: the HMPL-004 US patent application covering composition and usage; and the HMPL-001 China patent application covering composition and usage.

On the strategic alliance front, the Group commenced research collaboration with Eli Lilly. Hutchison MediPharma will be responsible for all discovery activities leading to clinical candidate selection, and Eli Lilly will be responsible for clinical development. The collaborations with Merck KGaA and Procter & Gamble have gone according to plan in 2007 with solid progress having been made on both.