Adagene Announces First Patient Dosed in United States and Acceptance of IND in China for ADG-106

SUZHOU,China,Nov. 1,2018 -- Adagene,Inc.,an innovative antibody engineering and discovery company,today announced the dosing of its first patient in its Phase I trial in American for its lead product ADG-106,a fully human agonistic monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting a novel epitope of CD137. Adagene is also announcing a record speed of review and acceptance of their IND in China for ADG-106. Adagene will investigate the safety and efficacy of ADG-106 therapy as a single agent across a range of solid tumor and non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients in the Phase I clinical study.

"I have worked on this target previously and believe 4-1BB agonists have tremendous therapeutic potential in immunotherapy by targeting thecostimulatory pathway," said Anthony W. Tolcher,M.D.,FRCPC,Founder,CEO and Director of Clinical Research at NEXT Oncology (San Antonio,Texas) and an investigator on the trial. "Our team is eager to evaluate ADG-106 because it has shown both excellent safety and efficacy in numerous native preclinical models,and we look forward to assessing the clinical benefit of ADG-106 via its novel mechanism of action that would potentially expand the opportunity for patients to benefit from a novel IO target in both single and combinational therapy."

"The initiation of a Phase I clinical study of ADG-106 is a pivotal milestone for Adagene and our novel approach to improving cancer care," said Peter Luo,CEO of Adagene. "Also,we are honored to receive the IND approval from the NMPA (National Medical Products Administration) in an expedited time. We believe it shows their commitment to support drugs with novel biology and mechanism of action. The preclinical evidence shows we are targeting a novel epitope and the antibody behaves very differently comparedwith the other two monoclonal antibodies previously in the clinic."

Additional information will be available shortly on the clinical trial at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About CD-137 (4-1BB)

CD137 or 4-1BB,a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily is a promising immune-oncology target. Ligation of CD137 induces a co-stimulatory signal on activated CD8+ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells,resulting in proliferation,increased pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion,and cytolytic function. 4‐1BB co-stimulation is the clinically validated pathway for the optimal T cell activation and its anti-tumor response as highlighted by the successful approval of the 4‐1BB-containing CART therapy by the US FDA.

About Adagene

Adagene (Suzhou,China and San Francisco,California) is an innovative antibody engineering and discovery company,by utilizing its proprietary Dynamic Precision Library Platform (DPL),Adagene is showcasing its exceptional antibody engineering capabilities by building franchises of products that are second and third-generation antibodies.

The company's management team is composed of industry veterans with aproven track record in therapeutic antibody R&D. Adagene is backed by top notch global venture funds such as F-Prime Capital Partners,Eight Roads Ventures,Wuxi Pharmatech Healthcare Fund I L.P.,GP Healthcare Capital,New World TMT Ltd and Sequoia China. The company has raised over $85 million through its series A to C financing.

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