Hainan Haiyao announced on January 6 that the company has recently signed a "Patent Assignment Contract" for DHODH inhibitor S-416 related patents with East China University of Science and Technology. The University owns DHODH inhibitor S-416 relevant patent, the company received the DHODH inhibitor patent for RMB 150 million, and the patent transfer fee used milestone installments.

According to the introduction of Hainan Haiyao, the target of DHODH inhibitors is dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH). Currently, DHODH inhibitors are mainly used for autoimmunity disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus nephritis, multiple sclerosis, etc. Many in vitro and clinical studies have shown that drugs that inhibit this target have anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-plasma, and anti-viral effects.

At present, there are few DHODH inhibitors on the market. The development of DHODH inhibitors is in line with the company's R&D strategy and can meet the needs of phased and long-term market drugs. It can also be used as an anti-viral strategic reserve drug and can be declared for other indications in the future.

The announcement shows the scope of the transfer target:

The subject of this contract is the Chinese patents related to the DHODH inhibitor S-416 applied by Party B, the patents that have entered a specific national phase through the PCT application and the global rights of the corresponding divisional patents, including the scope of patent rights covering the abbreviated DHODH inhibitor S-416 authorized patents and patent applications.