On Oct. 21, 2021, Ligand Pharmaceuticals announced the signing of a collaboration agreement granting China Resources Double-Crane Pharmaceutical exclusive Asia territorial rights to develop a novel investigational oral COVID-19 antiviral therapeutic compound using Ligand’s BEPro technology. Ligand received an upfront payment in respect of the collaboration, and if the program advanced, clinical and regulatory milestone payments, and tiered royalties on net sales. CRDC was responsible for all costs related to the program.

BEPro is a proprietary prodrug technology that is specifically applicable to nucleotides and nucleotide analogs for the development of compounds with improved product profiles. Ligand has generated preclinical pharmacokinetics data showing its oral BEPro-enabled COVID-19 antivirals to have a favorable blood concentration profile and generate lower levels of active nucleotide in the kidney, a potential site for toxicity, than other oral and intravenous comparators. Ligand has filed multiple patents globally on the BEPro technology and potential antiviral compounds.

China Resources Double-Crane Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (referred to as CRDC) is a business unit of China Resources Group (a Fortune Global 100 company). China Resources Group was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Beijing. CRDC’s main business covers new drug research and development, preparations production, sales and marketing, pharmaceutical equipment, and API production. CRDC engages in the fields of chronic diseases, infusion solutions, pediatrics, nephrology, psychiatry, and neurology.