Sphere No.46 (Mar 2019)

Sphere #46 2019 12 CHi-MED GOES GLOBAl >> A star is born Fruquintinib was discovered two years into Chi-Med’s journey searching for promising molecules to advance through the process to become an approved treatment and bona fide cancer-fighting drug. At the same time, the CK Hutchison team – and the markets, through a listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2006 – were demonstrating their confidence in Chi-Med through further investment. Meanwhile, the Chinese regulatory authorities wanted patients to have access to promising cures, and moved to improve the regulatory process for drugs of any origin. Mr Hogg explains that they reduced the time needed between moving from one trial phase to the next (assuming the latest round was successful). For promising molecules that addressed critical concerns with solid results in well-documented staying power during downturns in the capital markets that may otherwise have hindered fundraising. In the early years, Mr Hogg remembers that “nobody really cared about China pharmaceuticals”. But the corporate leadership at CK Hutchison did. They saw the potential and recruited Mr Hogg from Procter & Gamble, a global powerhouse, to head up their new business. Once the consumer business was on a stable footing, Chi-Med was ready for the next phase. But it would need new talent, very different from consumer TCM. It would need a world-class researcher to build and command a world-class research facility. World class from the start Many young people have graduated from the Chemistry Department of the renowned Fudan University near Shanghai. But only one, Su Weiguo, was the first Chinese national to receive a scholarship to Harvard University to study for his PhD. He spent seven years studying with Nobel laureate in Chemistry, Professor E J Corey, one of the greatest chemists in human history. Dr Su worked with world-leading pharmaceutical firm Pfizer after he left academia. He became a mainstay of the Pfizer research team and their drug discovery process for 15 years, rising to lead the global Medicinal Chemistry Department. He joined Chi-Med and convinced the senior leadership that small- molecule oncology drug design was the way of the future. And he was right. “It’s been 18 years of effort.” Christian Hogg CEO of Chi-Med