Antengene Unveils Its First Australian Office to Continue Expanding Global Presence
Antengene recently unveiled a new office space situated in Melbourne’s most sought-after CBD, taking another important step in the company’s continued global expansion. The new office offers an appealing environment that will help Antengene to attract more top talents, and further accelerate its expansion in the APAC region as well as its committed efforts to bring high quality and affordable innovative medicines to patients with life-threatening conditions including hematologic malignancies and solid tumors in Asia Pacific region and around the world.
Occupying a space of 250 square meters in a Grade A office building in Melbourne’s CBD that has an impressive 4.5-star NABERS energy rating and a 5.5-star NABERS water rating, the new office provides the fast-growing Australian team a superb work environment boasting a bird view of the downtown CBD area. In addition, the office has adopted a modern design with a state-of-the-art video conferencing system to facilitate both effective communications within the local team and close collaborations with teams and partners across the globe.
In March 2022, XPOVIO® (selinexor) was approved by the Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM) or triple-refractory R/R MM. In September 2022, XPOVIO® was included into the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for the treatment of patients with penta-refractory R/R MM. While making steady progress with the commercialization of Antengene’s lead asset, XPOVIO®, in Australia and the wider Asia Pacific region, the Australian team continued to grow at a rapid rate to a total of fifteen members in a variety of functions covering Commercial, Finance, Medical Affairs, Clinical and Business Development. The office will enable closer collaborations with teams in other APAC markets and provide the extra space needed to support the team’s continued expansion.
At present, Antengene is conducting 4 clinical trials in Australia with the company’s four drug candidates, including ATG-018, ATG-101, ATG-037, and ATG-017, exploring these novel agents in a range of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. It is worth noting that ATG-037 is the first oral available, small molecule CD73 inhibitor entering clinical development in China and the wider Asia Pacific region. ATG-101, the first PD-L1/4-1BB bispecific antibody approved to enter clinical stage in Australia, is currently being evaluated in clinical setting in Australia, China, and the U.S.
Mr. Thomas Karalis, Antengene’s Corporate Vice President, Head of Asia Pacific Region, commented on the new office, “Our first dedicated Antengene office in the Asia Pacific Region is an inspiring place to work and has been embraced by our growing Antengene team. Its opening marks a significant milestone for Antengene, as it not only meets our current business needs but will also support our future growth in the APAC region and globally.”
Ms. Michele Robbins, Antengene’s Senior Director of Commercialisation for ANZ, commented, “We have hired fantastic, capable people since starting the business in Australia a little over two years ago. Our new, open-plan Melbourne office enables us to continue the rapid growth of the business achieved to date, with a collaborative space to continue to drive teamwork and innovation.”
Dr. Tamara Etto, Antengene’s Head of Medical Affairs, APAC, commented on Antengene’s plans for growth, “Antengene’s focus for the team in Australia is to align with our teams in China and across APAC and China advancing the clinical development and commercialization of XPOVIO®, a first-in-class/best-in-class therapy for patients with R/R MM. We are excited to have a growing Australian team and look to the future of Antengene with eagerness to positively impact patient lives.”
About Antengene
Antengene Corporation Limited (“Antengene”, SEHK: 6996.HK) is a leading commercial-stage R&D-driven global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative first-in-class/best-in-class therapeutics for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, in realizing its vision of “Treating Patients Beyond Borders”.
Since 2017, Antengene has built a broad and expanding pipeline of 15 clinical and preclinical assets, of which 10 are global rights assets, and 5 came with rights for Asia Pacific markets including the Greater China region. To date, Antengene has obtained 24 investigational new drug (IND) approvals in the U.S. and Asia, and submitted 6 new drug applications (NDAs) in multiple Asia Pacific markets, with the NDA for XPOVIO® (selinexor) already approved in mainland China, South Korea, Singapore and Australia.
For further information please visit www.antengene.com
