Recently, Dr. Zhe Wang, Founder of Longwood Biopharmaceuticals, was invited to attend the Pre-Conference Meeting of BIO-FORUM2025 (Shanghai International Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Symposium) - Symposium on Disruptive Technologies in Biomedical Industry. The meeting was co-hosted by Shanghai Center of Biomedicine Development and Shanghai Science & Technology Investment Co. Ltd.
During the event, Dr. Wang delivered a keynote speech themed "Development and Industrialization of Bi-Functional & Dual-Target Potential Drugs for Complete Cure of Hepatitis B". As an important prelude to the BIO-FORUM, this closed-door meeting aimed to conduct in-depth discussions on cutting-edge technologies in the biomedical field and promote the transformation of innovative achievements. A number of world-leading R&D enterprises of disruptive innovative drugs, including Longwood Biopharmaceuticals, participated in this symposium.
Hepatitis B is one of the largest and most urgently needed pharmaceutical markets in the global antiviral field, harboring a 100-billion-level opportunity. There are over 290 million chronic hepatitis B infected individuals worldwide, and nearly 80 million in China. Existing drugs can only inhibit viral replication but cannot achieve a complete cure, leaving huge unmet clinical needs. Although some innovative drugs have shown positive results in clinical trials, they fail to completely eliminate HBV DNA-integrated virus-positive (HBcAg+/HBsAg+) hepatocytes. As a result, these drugs can only inhibit viral replication rather than eradicating HBV, leading to rapid rebound after drug discontinue. Therefore, the complete cure of HBV remains a worldwide problem to be solved urgently.
As the World's First bi-functional and dual-target new immune antiviral drug for hepatitis B, LW231 is expected to achieve no rebound after discontinuation. According to the “Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B (2022 Edition)”, the hallmark indicator of complete cure for hepatitis B is the clearance of HBV DNA (including covalently closed circular DNA, cccDNA) in hepatocytes, with no rebound after discontinuation. Pre-clinical research data shows that LW231 is currently the only drug worldwide that meets this criterion.
About BIO-FORUM
The Shanghai International Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Symposium, which has developed over 26 years, has become the largest and most influential comprehensive international symposium in the national biopharmaceutical field. It is committed to building a bridge for exchanges and cooperation among government, industry, academia, research, and medical sectors in the biopharmaceutical field.
About Longwood Biopharmaceuticals
Founded in 2012, Longwood Biopharmaceuticals is an innovative drug R&D company led by world-renowned experts in chemical drug R&D. The company is committed to the independent R&D of internationally leading innovative drugs with global intellectual property rights, focusing on addressing unmet clinical needs. It concentrates on the R&D and industrialization of innovative drugs in fields such as immune antiviral, immune anti-tumor, and autoimmune diseases, and has launched multiple independently developed small-molecule innovative drug projects (FIC), with several products entering the clinical trial stage. The clinical evaluation indicators of its core products have reached internationally leading levels, and they are expected to become major breakthrough achievements in relevant fields.
