Asieris Pharmaceuticals

Company Overview

Asieris Pharmaceuticals is a Chinese biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Shanghai, committed to advancing treatments and diagnostic tools for genitourinary tumours, women's health, and multidrug-resistant infections. Founded by Kevin Pan, the company has built a commercially active pipeline with twelve products and sixteen ongoing research projects. In 2024, Asieris generated revenues exceeding RMB 200 million in its first year of commercialisation, reflecting successful product launches and a growing specialty sales infrastructure. The company operates offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Taizhou (Jiangsu), Philadelphia (US), and London (UK), reflecting its ambition to build an international presence.

Headquarters and Global Presence

Asieris Pharmaceuticals is headquartered in Shanghai, China, with additional offices in Beijing and Taizhou City in Jiangsu Province within mainland China. Internationally, the company maintains a presence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and London, United Kingdom, supporting its global business development and regulatory activities. Asieris is pursuing US clinical development for APL-1702 through an international Phase III programme and is actively seeking international licensing and commercialisation partners for its innovative pipeline assets.

Founding and History

Asieris Pharmaceuticals was founded by Kevin Pan, who brings more than 20 years of experience in biotechnology start-ups, drug research and development, and business development. The company was established to address significant unmet needs in urological oncology and women's health through innovative pharmaceutical and drug-device combination approaches, drawing on photodynamic therapy technology and novel oral small molecules. Over its development, Asieris has built a pipeline spanning diagnostic agents, photodynamic therapeutics, and systemic oncology treatments, achieving its first major commercial launch in China in 2024.

Therapy Areas and Focus

Asieris Pharmaceuticals focuses on three primary therapeutic areas. In urological oncology, the company develops diagnostic and therapeutic products for bladder cancer, including APL-1706 (Hexvix®), the first photodynamic blue light cystoscopy imaging agent approved in China for bladder cancer detection, and APL-1202, an oral agent being evaluated in combination with tislelizumab for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). In women's health, APL-1702, a photodynamic drug-device combination, has succeeded in global Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of HPV-related precancerous cervical lesions. Anti-infective disease, particularly multidrug-resistant infections, represents a third area of strategic focus within the pipeline.

Technology Platforms and Modalities

Asieris has built capabilities across two primary modalities. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photodynamic diagnostics underpin the APL-1702 and APL-1706 programmes, combining light-activated drug or dye compounds with medical device delivery and illumination systems to achieve therapeutic or diagnostic effects with high tissue specificity. APL-1702 applies PDT to treat cervical lesions by activating a photosensitiser to destroy HPV-infected cells, whilst APL-1706 (Hexvix®) enables fluorescence-guided cystoscopy for bladder cancer visualisation. Small-molecule oncology is represented by APL-1202 (an oral NAMPT inhibitor or similar mechanism) being studied in MIBC. The company is also developing APLD-2304, a second-generation blue light cystoscope for NMIBC diagnosis.

Key Pipeline and Programs

APL-1706 (Hexvix®), a photodynamic diagnostic agent for bladder cancer detection via blue light cystoscopy, received NMPA approval in China in November 2024 — seven months ahead of schedule — becoming China's first approved diagnostic imaging agent for this application. APL-1702, a photodynamic drug-device combination for HPV-related precancerous cervical lesions, successfully completed a global Phase III clinical trial; Asieris is actively seeking US clinical and commercial partners to advance the programme into Phase III in the United States. APL-1202, an oral agent for MIBC, completed a Phase II trial in combination with tislelizumab in September 2024 with encouraging efficacy signals. The second-generation blue light cystoscope APLD-2304 is under development for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) diagnosis and treatment.

Key Personnel

Kevin Pan is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Asieris Pharmaceuticals. With more than 20 years of experience across biotech start-up, drug R&D, and business development, Pan has steered the company from its inception through to its first year of commercialisation, during which revenues exceeded RMB 200 million. The management team across Shanghai, Beijing, and international offices combines scientific, commercial, and regulatory expertise aligned with the company's strategic focus on urological oncology and women's health in both China and international markets.

Strategic Partnerships

Asieris Pharmaceuticals holds a licensing relationship for Hexvix® (hexaminolevulinate, APL-1706), a photodynamic diagnostic product originating from Photocure (Norway), for commercialisation in China. The company is actively seeking international partnership agreements for APL-1702 in the United States and other global markets, where the Phase III success creates a licensing and co-development opportunity for partners with regulatory and commercial capabilities in women's health and gynaecological oncology. Asieris has also collaborated with cancer research institutions for clinical development of its oncology candidates, including the Phase II trial of APL-1202 in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab.

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