Pfizer sues Riage Pharma, accusing ex-employee of stealing trade secrets

Pfizer, one of the world's largest multinational pharmaceutical companies, has pushed the well-known cutting-edge pharmaceutical company Ruige Pharmaceuticals, which has been established for less than four years, to the dock

Pfizer sues former employee

Recently, Pfizer sued two former employees, Xiayang Qiu (Qiu Xiayang) and Min Zhong (Zhong Min), alleging that during their tenure at Pfizer, they stole trade secrets related to Pfizer’s diabetes and obesity drugs being developed and sold them in Massachusetts, USA.

Pfizer indictment

It is understood that Qiu Xiayang is currently the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ruige Medicine, and Zhong Min is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ruige Medicine.

In the appeal, Pfizer alleges that as part of its deliberate scheme, Qiu Xiayang and Zhong Min stole key Pfizer trade secrets and had been using the privileges of their positions in the weeks prior to their notice of intent to leave Pfizer.

At the same time, the defendants have been claiming to create "a revolutionary new diabetes and weight loss drug", but in the related display directly copied the contents of several confidential Pfizer documents, which related to Pfizer's glucagon-like peptide 1 ( GLP-1) Key development and planning information for the program

Pfizer said in the appeal that what is even more bizarre is that five months after the company submitted the GLP-1 patent application for publication, the new company, which was established only a few months ago, also submitted the GLP-1 patent application for protection.

Regarding its investment in the development of diabetes and obesity drugs, Pfizer said that since 2002, scientists and clinicians employed by Pfizer have invested thousands of hours of work to develop revolutionary new diabetes and obesity drugs.

It is the above-mentioned efforts and efforts that have become the firm reason for Pfizer to appeal to Qiu Xiayang and Zhong Min.

As for Pfizer's allegations, Ruige Pharmaceuticals, the second defendant, said that the company believes that the lawsuit is completely groundless and plans to actively defend itself based on the allegations

Who is Ruige Medicine?

According to public information, Ruige Medicine was founded in July 2018 and is committed to the research and development of innovative drugs (first-in-class) and best-in-class drugs with independent intellectual property rights in the fields of tumor, autoimmunity and metabolism.

In 2018, Qilu Pharmaceutical made a Series A investment in Ruige Medicine.

According to the official website of Ruige Pharmaceuticals, its R&D pipeline includes a variety of candidate drugs, three of which have entered the clinic.

Ruige pharmaceutical product pipeline

The other RGT-075 is the fastest-growing product of Ruige Medicine.

It is worth noting that RGT-075 is also the focus of the above-mentioned Pfizer complaint.

PF-06882961 Development Plan

In December 2021, in a report from Ruige Medicine obtained by Yigu, Ruige Medicine and Eli Lilly reached a cooperation.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly has been granted an intellectual property license for Riage Pharmaceuticals, which Lilly may choose to extend and will be responsible for clinical development excluding Greater China, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

GLP-1 receptor agonist "weight loss" market smoke

In recent years, GLP-1 receptor targets are becoming the mainstream of weight loss drug research and development.
It is understood that GLP-1 is a protein secreted by the human glucagon gene, which is widely distributed in multiple organs and tissues throughout the body.
It can promote the secretion of human insulin and reduce blood sugar.
It is precisely with its good hypoglycemic effect that GLP-1 receptor agonists have become the backbone of the rise in the field of diabetes, but the surprises it brings are not limited to Hypoglycemic can also adjust the patient's appetite, reduce weight by suppressing appetite, and achieve weight loss.
It has clinically proven its good weight loss effect and safety advantages
.

In December 2014, the FDA approved the first GLP-1 receptor agonist for weight loss indications, and Novo Nordli Laglutide (trade name Saxenda) came out on top.
Clinical results showed that 60% of obese patients lost 5% of their body weight after injecting liraglutide, while a third of patients lost 10% of their body weight
.

After being approved for listing, liraglutide quickly gained a place in the foreign weight loss market.
According to Novo Nordisk’s financial report, it brought Novo Nordisk about US$900 million and US$859 million respectively in 2019-2020.
In 2021, and Novo Nordisk’s other weight loss drug semaglutide (formerly known as semaglutide) will bring Novo Nordisk a total of 8.
4 billion Danish kroner (about 1.
335 billion US dollars) in sales.

.

Semaglutide was approved by the U.
S.
FDA in June 2021 under the trade name Wegovy for long-term weight control in overweight or obese patients.
A paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021 showed that, In a global-scale Phase 3 clinical trial, 1,961 people in 16 countries lost an average of 15.
3 kg of body weight after using semaglutide, about three-quarters lost more than 10% of their body weight, and more than one-third lost more than 10% of their body weight.
One person loses more than 20%
.

Some people in the industry said that the weight loss effect of most of the weight loss drugs on the market in the past hovered in the range of 5%-10%, and the side effects were large and the continuity was poor.
If it can reduce weight by more than 15%, it is very promising.
The industry estimates that in the future, semaglutide with better performance will surpass liraglutide
.

It is worth mentioning that Novo Nordisk has also developed Rybelsus, an oral dosage form of semaglutide, which was first approved by the FDA in September 2019.
This is the world’s first approved oral GLP-1 drug, but it was approved The indication is to combine diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes.
In the field of weight loss, there is no oral dosage form on the market
.

Compared with injectable dosage forms, oral drugs are more convenient to use, can improve patient compliance, and thus achieve better weight loss results.
Therefore, major pharmaceutical companies are competing for oral GLP-1 receptor agonists at full speed.
market position to seize the opportunity
.

At present, the three oral GLP-1 receptor agonists, Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Riger Pharmaceuticals, are making the fastest progress in the research and development of oral GLP-1 receptor agonists.
In addition, Lilly and Riger Pharmaceuticals have joined hands to cooperate, which is bound to bring Pfizer's opportunity to seize the oral market.
Adverse effects, so that it has to be guarded against
.

In particular, Eli Lilly's dual GIP/GLP-1 agonist tirzepatide will become its biggest competitor, which has already reduced body weight by more than 10% in a phase 3 clinical trial for obese patients with type 2 diabetes.
At present, the indication of this product for diabetes has entered the review in the United States and the European Union, and it has become one of the most anticipated drugs in 2022.
The industry predicts that tirzepatide will become a blockbuster product in the field of diabetes treatment and weight loss in the future, according to Evaluate.
, after the drug goes on sale, peak sales will reach $5 billion by 2026
.

In China, many pharmaceutical companies are also competing for the GLP-1 receptor agonist product pipeline, including Renhui Bio, Huadong Medicine, Wanbang Biochemical, Hengrui Medicine, Hansen Pharmaceutical, etc.
The research and development progress has been from the newly approved clinical to the third phase Clinical varies
.

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