Essex Bio-Technology Limited (“EssexBio Group” and the “Company”) was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on 31st July, 2000 and has been listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since 27th June, 2001. Essex specializes in biopharmaceutical drug development based on recombinant DNA technology. It is principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of biopharmaceutical products for the treatment and healing of surface wounds and eye wounds. The Group also engaged in the research and development of bFGF products for new indications, as well as other ophthalmic pharmaceutical projects.   A series of genetically engineered bio-pharmaceutical drugs have been successfully developed and three of them were classified as State-level Category I new drugs. The main brands of the Company's products are Beifuji, Beifushu and Beifuxin.

Essex Bio-Technology

MeiraGTx

MeiraGTx is committed to the development and commercialization of innovative gene therapy products to transform the lives of patients suffering from acquired and inherited disorders. The company is dedicated to advancing innovative treatments for patients with serious medical conditions. MeiraGTx's research and development efforts primarily revolve around gene therapy, a cutting-edge approach that involves modifying or replacing faulty genes to treat or prevent diseases. Led by an experienced management team, we have taken a portfolio approach by licensing, acquiring, and developing technologies that give us depth across both product candidates and indications. Though initially focusing on the eye, salivary gland, and central nervous system, we intend to expand our focus in the future to develop additional gene therapy treatments for patients suffering from a range of serious diseases.

<div>MeiraGTx is a developer of gene therapies that aim to treat ocular diseases and problems, neurodegenerative disorders, and salivary gland and autoimmune disorders. MeriaGTx is also developing riboswitch-inducible expression programs for the treatment of inherited obesity and Wilson disease, along with producing small-molecule riboswitch inducers. The company is listed on the Nasdaq and trades under the symbol MGTX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>

Novel therapies to reboot cells and organs

Cell & Gene Therapy

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 MeiraGTx is a developer of gene therapies that aim to treat ocular diseases and problems, neurodegenerative disorders, and salivary gland and autoimmune disorders. MeriaGTx is also developing riboswitch-inducible expression programs for the treatment of inherited obesity and Wilson disease, along with producing small-molecule riboswitch inducers. The company is listed on the Nasdaq and trades under the symbol MGTX.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 As of August 2023, the company had six potential gene-based therapeutic candidates in development, including three Phase I/II clinical-stage programs, two Phase I clinical trials for radiation-induced xerostomia (RIX), and a Parkinson&rsquo;s program that had completed a Phase II clinical trial. Additionally, the company has collaborated with Janssen on its therapeutics targeting X-linked retinitis pigmentosa and on two candidates for the treatment of achromatopsia.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 MeiraGTx partnered with the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) in November 2022 to influence risk agendas, raise awareness, the standards of risk, and safety management across the industry.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Meira last raised funds in October 2023, when the company secured a strategic investment of USD 30 million from Sanofi. As part of the transaction, Sanofi was granted the right of first negotiation for MeiraGTx's gene regulation technology in certain targets.&nbsp;
 
 
 
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 Tenaya Therapeutics is a developer of therapeutics for heart disease. The company develops its therapeutics using precision medicine, gene therapy, and cellular regeneration. Tenaya produces therapeutics that also use proprietary in-vivo and in-vitro models. Additionally, the company has developed in-house adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid engineering capabilities and has screened over one billion variants from more than 30 diverse, proprietary AAV libraries. The company is publicly listed on the Nasdaq and trades under the ticker symbol TNYA.&nbsp;
 
 
 As of August 2023, the company&rsquo;s clinical pipeline included two candidates in Phase I clinical trials, a gene therapeutic for the treatment of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, and a small molecule inhibitor for the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Additionally, Tenaya had one gene therapy candidate and two genetic medicine candidates in preclinical testing phases, along with five genetic medicine candidates in the discovery stage.&nbsp;
 
 
 In October 2023 Tenaya Therapeutics (Tenaya) received FDA clearance for the company&rsquo;s investigational new drug application (TN-401) to initiate clinical testing. TN-401 is Tenaya&rsquo;s adeno-associated virus serotype 9-based investigational gene therapy drug candidate for the treatment of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy caused by mutations in the plakophilin-2 gene. 
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 Tenaya&rsquo;s most recent funding raise was in November 2022, when the company secured around USD 75 million from gross proceeds from a public offering. The company did not disclose what the funds would be used for.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 In February 2024, Tenaya Therapeutics announced the pricing of its underwritten offering of 8,888,890 shares of its common stocks at an offering price of USD 4.50 per share. The company expects to receive total gross proceeds of approximately USD 50 million through the offering. 
 
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Tenaya Therapeutics

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 Sarepta Therapeutics is a gene therapy provider for conditions such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy 
 (LGMD), and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease. The company&rsquo;s therapeutics incorporate technology related to gene therapy, RNA technologies, and gene editing. The company leverages a proprietary phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO) platform for the development of its RNA-based therapeutics. As of August 2023, the company had four FDA-approved treatments for DMD: ELEVIDYS, EXONDYS 51, VYONDYS 53, and AMONDYS 45. Sarepta Therapeutics is also listed on the Nasdaq, trading under the symbol SRPT.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 As of August 2023, the company had several RNA, gene, and gene editing therapeutics in various clinical stages. Sarepta had two RNA therapeutics, both for the treatment of DMD, one in clinical testing, and the other in pre-clinical testing. Additionally, the company had seven gene therapeutics, two for the treatment of DMD (both in clinical testing), four for the treatment of LGMD (three in clinical testing, one in preclinical testing) and one for multiple targets (in preclinical testing). Also, Sarepta had two gene editing-based therapeutics in development for the treatment of DMD, both in preclinical testing phases.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 Over the years since its founding, Sarepta has partnered with several industry and academic partners. The list includes Dyno Therapeutics, Genethon, Genevant Sciences, Hansa Biopharma, Roche, Columbia University, Harvard University, Translational Laboratory of Murdoch University, University of Florida College of Medicine, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children&rsquo;s Hospital, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the University of Western Australia.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 In October 2021, Sarepta and healthcare giant Roche announced they would collaborate on carrying out a clinical study of Sarepta&rsquo;s therapeutic candidate SRP-9001 for the treatment of DMD.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Sarepta and pharmaceutical company Catalent announced that in January 2023, the companies were signing a commercial supply agreement. Through the agreement,&nbsp; Catalent would manufacture Sarepta&rsquo;s gene therapeutic for the treatment of DMD; delandistrogene moxeparvovec (SRP-9001).
 
 
 
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Sarepta Therapeutics

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 Mesoblast is a cell therapy manufacturer that provides therapeutics for oncology, cardiovascular, orthopedic, hematology, immunity, and inflammation-related conditions. The company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker symbol &ldquo;MSB.&rdquo; Mesoblast develops therapeutics using its proprietary mesenchymal lineage cell technology platform, which is used to produce cryopreserved, off-the-shelf, and cellular-based solutions. The company also incorporates 3D bioreactor technology and automation into its production process to produce higher yields.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 As of August 2023, the company had five candidates that are in various stages of clinical testing. Mesoblast&rsquo;s steroid-refractory candidate for Acute Graft Versus Host Disease is currently in late-stage Phase III clinical testing and is the closest candidate to commercialization. The company&rsquo;s drug candidates for acute respiratory distress syndrome, chronic low back pain, and chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction are also in Phase III clinical testing while its candidate for inflammatory bowel disease is in Phase II of clinical testing.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 The company has secured several agreements with international companies with regard to development and commercialization of Mesoblast&rsquo;s candidates, including Gr&uuml;nenthal GmBH, JCR Pharmaceuticals, Tasly Pharmaceutical Group, TiGenix NV, and the Lonza Group.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Additionally, in April 2020, Mesoblast partnered with The US NIH&rsquo;s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to conduct testing of its allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) product candidate, &ldquo;remestemcel-L.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 The company raised USD 40 million in April 2023 in a global private placement, which saw participation from Mesoblast&rsquo;s existing major US, UK, and Australian shareholders. The company set aside the raised funds to launch and commercialize its lead candidate, remestemcel-L, in the treatment of children with steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease, continue manufacturing of remestemcel-L at the Lonza Biosciences facility in Singapore, and initiative patient selection and enrolment its Phase III clinical trials of its rexlemestrocel-L candidate for low back pain associated with degenerative disc disease. 
 
 
 
 
 
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Mesoblast

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 Ocugen is a gene therapy manufacturer that develops vaccine, cell, and gene-based therapeutics for infectious, eye, and orthopedic diseases. Its cell therapy includes a three dimensional tissue-engineered cartilage disk through the growth of chondrocytes &ndash; the cells responsible for maintaining cartilage health. Its gene therapy solution consists of creating a copy of the patient&rsquo;s gene in order to replace mutated/damaged genes. The company is publicly listed on the Nasdaq, and trades under the symbol &lsquo;OCGN&rsquo;.&nbsp;
 
 
 As of August 2023, the company had five therapeutic solutions being clinically tested. Its inhaled vaccine candidate for the treatment of Covid-19 was in Phase III of clinical testing, along with its gene therapy solution for orthopedic diseases. The company also had three cell therapy-based therapeutic candidates two of which were in the Investigational New Drug-enabling stage, while its candidate for retinal degradation was in Phase I/II of clinical testing.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Ocugen partnered with biopharmaceutical manufacturer Jubilant HollisterStier of Spokane in June 2021 to manufacture its Covid-19 therapeutic COVAXIN. Through the partnership, Jubilant would be the potential commercial manufacturer of Ocugen&rsquo;s vaccine for the US and Canadian markets.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
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 Ocugen last secured funds in May 2023 when the company raised USD 16.5 million through a public offering of common stock. Ocugen set aside the raised funds to use them for general corporate purposes, capital expenditures, working capital, and general and administrative expenses.&nbsp; 
 
 
 
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Ocugen

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 Athersys is a cell therapy manufacturer that provides stem cell-based therapeutics for neurological, inflammatory and immune, and cardiovascular-related diseases. The company is publicly listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol &ldquo;ATHX.&rdquo; The company&rsquo;s stem cell-based solutions fall under the brand name &ldquo;MultiStem,&rdquo; where the therapeutic is introduced intravenously for the downregulation of pro-inflammatory processes and upregulation of reparative immune responses to promote recovery.&nbsp;
 
 
 As of August 2023, the company had seven drug candidates in its clinical pipeline. Three are for the treatment of Ischemic Strokes, with all three candidates being either in Phase II or higher. One candidate, being developed for the treatment of trauma, is in the process of patient enrollment as a part of Phase II. Finally, Athersys&rsquo; final three candidates are being developed to treat Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and all candidates are in Phase II or higher stages of their clinical trials. The company additionally is developing cell-based therapies for animal health.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 As of August 2023, the company was co-developing two drug candidates, one for the treatment of Ischemic Strokes and for the treatment of ARDS, with Japanese biotechnology provider Healios K.K. to be used exclusively in Japan. The companies originally partnered in August 2021, where Healios was additionally tasked with obtaining regulatory approval for the use of Athersys&rsquo; MultiStem solutions in Japan.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company last raised funds in April 2023, when it secured USD 3.7 million in a registered direct offering and a concurrent private placement to purchase and then sell ~3.7 million shares valued at USD 1 per share with warrants being exercised at USD 0.96 per share. The company did not disclose what the funds would be used for.&nbsp;
 
 
 
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Athersys Inc

Startups in the hub consider individual patient profiles, involving variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle

Genomics helps understand the genetic information stored in the DNA to develop targeted treatments

Companies conducting R&D on therapies that modify or introduce new genes into the body to treat diseases.

MeiraGTx

Cell & Gene Therapy

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Cell and gene therapy: Repairing the building blocks of life

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Janssen Pharmaceuticals acquires XLRP Gene Therapy from MeiraGTx

MeiraGTx secures USD 30 million investment from Sanofi

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