China's antibody technology accelerates overseas expansion: BIOCYTOGEN's RenMab obtains patent in Japan

On June 5th, BIOCYTOGEN (2315.HK) announced that its fully human antibody mouse RenMice® platform's key technology (hereinafter referred to as "RenMice") has obtained an invention patent certificate issued by the Japan Patent Office.

This marks a key advancement in global intellectual property protection for RenMice, establishing a patent barrier for BIOCYTOGEN's overseas expansion.

The principle of this platform is that BIOCYTOGEN utilizes its unique ultra-large fragment chromosome engineering technology to replace the variable region genes of the heavy and light chains of mouse antibodies in situ with the corresponding human genes. As a result, RenMab mice possess complete human antibody heavy chain VDJ genes and light chain VJ genes.

Like wild mice, RenMab mice can generate strong immune responses against different antigens and can produce fully human antibody molecules that maximally retain natural diversity.

Based on this, pharmaceutical companies can select antibody molecules that meet their various research and development needs from the antibody shelf screened from the RenMice platform, eliminating the steps of early drug discovery and development, saving research and development time, and reducing the uncertainty of early-stage research and development.

Currently, BIOCYTOGEN has reached licensing cooperation agreements with about 20 pharmaceutical companies, including Merck Germany, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, and BeiGene.

Relying on RenMice, BIOCYTOGEN's antibody discovery business is growing rapidly, with revenue expected to reach 318 million yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of over 80%.

The monetization of technology has also propelled BIOCYTOGEN to an important turning point in returning to profitability, with a net profit of 34 million yuan in 2024, achieving a remarkable turnaround from a loss of nearly 400 million yuan in 2023.

With the recent patent certification of RenMice in Japan, BIOCYTOGEN's growth potential in overseas markets is expected to be further unlocked.

In addition to China and Japan, RenMice has obtained patent authorization in about eight countries, including the United States, while nearly 40 patent applications in 15 countries and regions are under examination, with the prospect of obtaining more patent authorizations in the future.

In terms of capitalization progress, BIOCYTOGEN is advancing its IPO process on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board and is currently in the inquiry stage, planning to achieve a dual listing in both "A+H" markets.

If BIOCYTOGEN successfully lists in both markets, it means that the "three giants of domestic model animals," YK Biotechnology (688046.SH) and Nanmo Biotechnology (688265.SH), are expected to gather in the A-share market