China's Yabao, MRC Technology Partner On Parkinson's Therapeutics

By Cyndi Root

Yabao Pharmaceuticals has partnered with MRC Technology to develop therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease. The companies announced the deal in a press release, stating that the exclusive license agreement is for the discovery, development, and commercialization of kinase specific compounds involved in neurodegeneration.

Yabao is entitled to market successful therapeutics in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. MRC retains the rights for commercialization in all other markets worldwide. The two companies did not disclose financial terms or any other partnership details.

About Yabao

Yabao Pharmaceutical is headquartered in Beijing, China. The company is fully integrated, possessing development, manufacturing, and marketing capabilities. Yabao focuses on the Chinese market while making strategic partnerships with international entities. Recently the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Yabao’s manufacturing site for cGMP processing, and the company is expecting a similar approval by the EU.

MRC Technology

MRC Technology is based in London, where the non-profit works to bring academia, charity, and industry together. Spun off from the U.K.’s Medical Research Council in 2000, MRC helps develop Intellectual Property (IP), diagnostics, small molecules, and antibody therapeutics. Its main focus is shepherding early stage innovations through development into the marketplace.

Recently, MRC announced that it was going “back in time” to find treatments for brain diseases. Its intent, armed with $47 million in charitable funding, is to go through the dusty shelves in pharmaceutical companies and find agents that may be helpful in treating dementia, motor neuron disease, and Parkinson’s disease.

In October 2013, MRC entered into collaboration with Proximagen Group to develop small molecules for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Proximagen is based in the U.K. and is a subsidiary of Upsher-Smith Laboratories, a U.S. company. MRC will put its medicinal chemistry expertise to work on the enzymatic cytokine, Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF).