Singapore: China-based 3SBio, which is focused on R&D, manufacturing and marketing biopharmaceutical products, acquired patents for DJ5, a novel non-TZD PPARgamma agonist with potential to retard progressive renal failure in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD).

3SBio intends to seek approval from the CFDA to undertake phase one clinical trials in China. ADPKD is the most frequent hereditary renal disease that affects about one-in-400 to one-in-1,000 people. The estimated patient population is approximately 1.5 million in China and 10 million globally. Approximately 50 percent of people with ADPKD will develop end stage kidney disease and require dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Researchers with the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Science discovered and synthesized DJ5 and investigated its effect on disease progression and possible side effects in the Han:SPRD rat model of polycystic kidney disease. They concluded that DJ5 markedly delays the loss of renal function, inhibits the cyst epithelial cell proliferation, and retards cyst development in Han:SPRD rats with ADPKD, without causing cardiac side effects.

Previous studies have shown that PPARgamma agonist Thioglitazones (TZDs) could reduce renal cystogenesis, retard the progression of kidney failure and prolong survival in ADPKD animal models. However, TZDs treatment was associated with fluid retention and heart failure.

Dr Jing Lou, CEO, 3SBio, said that, "We are pleased to be associated with SIMM and look forward to moving DJ5 into clinical trials in China. 3SBio continues to seek opportunities to support novel approaches to kidney related disorders and other unmet medical needs, particularly in 3SBio's core therapeutic areas of nephrology and oncology."