Medicilon interview with Dr. Fei Zhang | Walking in the dark with a light, Raymon Pharma’s new medicinal technology benefits eye health
On the one hand, the burden on the eyes brought by electronic products has increased, and on the other hand, the eye health awareness of “seeing clearly and comfortably” has been improved. High Growth, High Barriers, and High Prosperity Chinese ophthalmic drugs are rising explosively!
The number of ophthalmology patients in China far exceeds that of the United States, reaching 1 billion, but the ophthalmic drug market is less than one-fifth of that of the United States. In China’s ophthalmic drug market, which started relatively late, the understanding of the pathogenesis of ophthalmic diseases is relatively lagging behind, and the innovative R&D capabilities are relatively weak. It can be said that independent research and development of ophthalmic drugs is destined to be a road of groping in the dark. On this road, Raymon Pharma is constantly moving forward with the lights on, exploring the dream of light.
In March 2023, the eye drops RA1115-B1 self-developed by Raymon Pharma for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (wAMD), which is also the first eye drop for the treatment of wAMD in China, has completed the phase I clinical trial with positive results. In May 2023, RMP-A03 eye drops self-developed by Raymon Pharma for the treatment of pterygium achieved excellent results in the Phase I clinical trial in the United States.
The innovative ophthalmic drugs self-developed by Raymon Pharma have continuously achieved new breakthroughs, which is a strong evidence of the continuous improvement of China’s innovative ophthalmic drug research and development capabilities. How big is the gap between China’s ophthalmic drug market and the international frontier market? What challenges will there be? How does Raymon Pharma lay out the ophthalmology R&D pipeline? Why can it get the capital’s favor again and again? With all kinds of questions, Shanghai Medicilon Inc. (Medicilon) has the honor to interview Dr. Fei Zhang, the founder of Raymon Pharma, to share his unique insights in the field of ophthalmic drugs.
Dr. Fei Zhang Fei, Founder of Raymon Pharma
Senior engineer, graduated from Fudan University with a bachelor’s degree, and obtained a doctorate in medicinal chemistry from Columbia University in the United States. During his doctoral period, he was engaged in the research and development of new tumor drugs at Columbia University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, MSKCC.
After graduation, he served as the head of R&D at Novartis and a senior pharmaceutical researcher at Merck, designing and optimizing small molecules based on pharmacological targets to discover ophthalmic drug candidates in the field of posterior ocular lesions. Dr. Zhang also participated in the establishment of China’s new drug research and development team, responsible for translating the strategy of the TRD (Technology Research and Development) department into business activities, and provide professional support at the management and operational levels. Dr. Zhang has more than 20 years of experience in small molecule innovative drug design, synthesis and related preclinical research and development in internationally renowned pharmaceutical companies. He participated in and presided over the design and preclinical development of several ophthalmic innovative drugs, and won the Merck Special Award. He also completed more than ten new drug patents, four of which are chief inventors.
Dr. Fei Zhang founded Raymon Pharma in the Biomedical Industrial Park of Suzhou Industrial Park in 2018, and served as the chairman and CEO of the company. Dr. Zhang comprehensively coordinated the company’s strategic planning, project development and overall operations. Raymon Pharma is an ophthalmic innovative drug research and development company, which has been committed to the research and development and clinical research of new drugs for blinding diseases in ophthalmology. Dr. Zhang was selected into the Suzhou Industrial Park Entrepreneurship Leading Talent Project (2018), Gusu Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Angel (2019), and Jiangsu Provincial Industry Professor (2023). Raymon Pharma was selected into the 2021 Listed Nursery Project, the 2021 GEI China Potential Unicorn Enterprise, and the 2022 Suzhou “Unicorn” Cultivation Enterprise.
Q1 Medicilon: Dr. Zhang, can you introduce the therapeutic potential of RA1115-B1 eye drops and RMP-A03 eye drops?
Dr. Zhang: Our RA1115-B1 eye drops are the company’s first self-innovated drugs to enter clinical trials. The current clinical indication is the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, wAMD for short.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a lesion in the macular area of the retina, and the exact pathogenesis is still unclear. AMD is divided into wet AMD and dry AMD. Wet AMD accounts for about 10%-15% of the total number of AMD cases, but leads to 80%-90% of cases of blindness caused by AMD.
The early treatment of wAMD is surgery, but the laser will cause permanent light spots, and the recurrence rate is high. In 2004, the first anti-VEGF drug pegaptanib (Macugen) approved for the treatment of wAMD, due to its side effects and poor curative effect, there are relatively few clinical applications at present. In 2006, Genentech launched Ranibizumab (Lucentis®), making important progress in the treatment of wAMD. In 2011, Regeneron and Bayer launched Aflibercept (EyleaÒ), using in the treatment of wAMD.
At present, the clinical drugs for the treatment of wAMD mainly include aflibercept and ranibizumab worldwide. For the Chinese market, in addition to these two drugs, there is mainly Conbercept, which was approved by the CFDA in 2013.
The three drugs mentioned above are administered through fundus injection. The innovation of Raymon Pharma’s RA1115-B1 eye drops is that it is administered through eye drops after selection and optimization, and the relevant test data have confirmed the feasibility of the drug penetrating the fundus. From the perspective of epidemiological statistics, the prevalence of early AMD among people over 50 years old in China is between 1.7% and 9.5%, and the global prevalence of AMD is also very high, about 8.69%.
Recently, the “Guidelines for Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in China (2023)” was released in China. The new version of the guideline was developed by the Fundus Diseases Group of the Ophthalmology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, the Fundus Diseases Group of the Ophthalmology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association and the National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, and formulated based on the latest research results and urgent problems in clinical diagnosis and treatment.
RMP-A03 eye drops are the second self-innovatived drug in the company’s R&D pipeline that has entered clinical trials for the treatment of pterygium. Pterygium is a common ocular surface disease with a wide distribution and a high incidence. The prevalence of pterygium ranges from 0.074% in Saudi Arabia to 53% in Taiwan, and the combined prevalence of pterygium in the world is 12%. At present, the main way of clinical treatment of pterygium is surgical treatment. In addition to the recurrence of pterygium, postoperative complications of pterygium include corneal lesions, conjunctival lesions, scleral lesions, and symblephagia. Poor corneal and scleral wound healing, wound infection, corneal epithelial erosion, limbal scleral dry pits, conjunctival granuloma, and recurrence of pterygium were common complications after pterygium surgery. Judging from the current market and industry, the above two products can largely solve unmet clinical needs.
Q2 Medicilon: Combined with the R&D pipeline, what kind of layout strategy does Raymon Pharma have in terms of R&D pipeline project approval?
Dr. Zhang: The overall layout policy is clinical demand-driven product project evaluation. The current layout area is the research and development of ophthalmic innovative drugs and drug delivery technology for ophthalmic diseases. A total of several projects in different stages of research and development have been deployed, involving fundus and ocular surface diseases, and the fastest progress is the above two projects. At the same time, the intellectual property rights are protected by multiple patents in the field of ophthalmic diseases.
Q3 Medicilon: Vascular and neurological lesions are the two most common blinding diseases in ophthalmology. Why did you choose to specialize in these two areas? What is the biggest challenge?
Dr. Zhang: The development of new ophthalmic drugs is a special field, because the complexity and technical barriers of new ophthalmic drug development require profound technical accumulation and multidisciplinary technical precipitation. The reason why I choose the current track is because I and the core members of the team have worked in the past and looked forward to the future. We have examined this field, and there is a great demand both domestically and globally. We also formulated the company’s development plan after comprehensively analyzing the environment, industry and market, competition pattern, and economic factors.
Discovering and developing target new drugs at a faster speed and at a lower cost is the biggest challenge. The risk of new drug research and development is high, the cycle is long, and multi-disciplinary and multi-chain collaboration is required. For example, Medicilon provided pharmaceutical research services such as raw material drug production, raw material drug process development, and preparation prescription process development for Raymon Pharma’s new drug RA1115-B1 eye drops, which improved the development efficiency. On the one hand, we try our best to avoid the homogeneous competition cycle in the market. On the other hand, we quickly promote and discuss the project internally to determine the feasibility of the project as soon as possible.
Q4 Medicilon: Since its establishment, Raymon Pharma has received multiple financings, with a cumulative financing amount of several hundred RMB million. In your opinion, what is the core advantage of Raymon Pharma that continues to be favored by capital?
Dr. Zhang: I would like to take this opportunity to thank the investor market for its strong recognition of Raymon Pharma and their willingness to invest and financing. The company mainly focuses on the research and development of new ophthalmic drugs. Due to the high technical barriers, this track belongs to the blue ocean area.
With the aging of China and the improvement of people’s living standards and other factors, people are paying more and more attention to non-fatal diseases. Thanks to the prosperity and development of the country and the progress of the society, more and more people pay attention to improving their own health. In recent years, with the return of overseas high-level talents, Chinese people have the strength to explore the frontier of science. Therefore, Raymon Pharma can continue to be favored by capital, which is inseparable from the combined effect of its professional management team and technical strength, excellent products and market prospects, good investment environment and policy support.
Q5 Medicilon: In the field of ophthalmic drugs, you have R&D experience in internationally renowned pharmaceutical companies and successful experience in starting a business in China. What do you think is the main gap between the current Chinese ophthalmic drug market and the international market? How can this gap be narrowed?
Dr. Zhang: China’s ophthalmic drug market, like other drug markets, has been growing and changing over the past two decades. The main gap between China’s ophthalmic drug market and the international market is still innovation ability. In order to narrow this gap, we need to increase investment in the field of ophthalmic drugs, attract more professionals and funds, and promote technological innovation and R&D.
Narrowing the gap between China’s ophthalmic drug market and the international market requires the joint efforts of the entire society, the cooperation of the government, enterprises, academia and all sectors of society, to strengthen investment and innovation, and promote the rapid development of China’s ophthalmic drug market.
Q6 Medicilon: You have been working in the field of ophthalmic medicine for more than 20 years, and you have interpreted your love and perseverance with responsibility. Could you share your journey and understanding of guarding the “Road of Light”?
Dr. Zhang: Thank you very much for your attention and affirmation to me. I have been committed to making contributions in the field of ophthalmic medicine, bringing hope and light to more patients in need of treatment.
In the past twenty years of work, I have witnessed the continuous development and innovation of ophthalmic drugs. I deeply understand that the eye is one of the most sensitive and fragile organs of the human body, so we must be extremely cautious in the development, production and use of ophthalmic drugs to ensure their safety and effectiveness.
My mental journey and insights can be summed up in three words: persistence, innovation and dedication. Persistence is because the field of ophthalmic medicine requires long-term accumulation and precipitation, and only continuous persistence can achieve better results. Innovation is due to the continuous development of science and technology, we need to constantly update our knowledge and skills, and explore new treatments and drugs. Dedication is because the pharmaceutical industry requires us to do everything well with our heart and pay attention to every patient with love.
