Zai Lab is a global biopharmaceutical company with operations in China and the U.S., focusing on addressing significant unmet needs in the areas of oncology, immunology, neuroscience and infectious disease.
Zai Lab celebrated its 10-year anniversary last year. Could you tell us briefly about the company's history and current focus?
Zai Lab’s CEO, Samantha Du, founded Zai Lab after her tenure at HUTCHMED, one of the first biotech companies in China, and later Sequoia Capital China. Zai Lab was created to serve two purposes: first, to help Western biotech companies bring their products to China, operating at global compliance and quality standards. Second, to globalize innovation coming out of China.
Over the last decade, Zai Lab has grown into a leading global biopharma company. Today, we have eight approved products in China, mostly from Western partnerships, with $400 million in projected sales this year. Some key products include ZEJULA for ovarian cancer, marketed globally by GlaxoSmithKline but licensed to us in China, and VYVGART for myasthenia gravis, a fast-growing immunology product from argenx.
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have been around for a while but are complex. Could you provide some background and explain what Zai Lab is doing to innovate in this space?
ADCs use an antibody to target tumor cells and deliver a chemotherapeutic payload more precisely, minimizing the off-target side effects of traditional chemotherapy. The goal is to get more therapeutic into cancer cells while sparing healthy cells. Innovations in linkers and payloads over the years have significantly improved their efficacy and safety and there is great potential for next-generation ADCs to become transformative cancer therapies.
Our work in ADCs began with a partnership with Seagen (now acquired by Pfizer) on TIVDAK approved in the U.S. for cervical cancer and currently in development for the China market. One of our most exciting global assets is an ADC targeting DLL3, a protein that is highly overexpressed in over 90% of cases of small cell lung cancer. Early data for Zai’s internally developed, potential first-in-class ADC, ZL-1310, showed a 74% overall response rate, significantly outperforming established standards. Importantly, ZL-1310 shows a much better safety and toxicity profile than competitors. If we can maintain our efficacy while offering better safety, we believe our ADC could serve a broader patient population in small cell lung cancer – a disease that is historically difficult to treat.
Which other targets are you exploring with an ADC approach?
We are exploring both other cancer indications for our DLL3 ADC and additional ADC molecules. Beyond small cell lung cancer, we are investigating other neuroendocrine tumors, such as prostate and gastric cancers, where DLL3 is also overexpressed. Additionally, we in-licensed an ADC targeting ROR1, a protein with potential applications in solid tumors. While ROR1 has been studied in leukemia, its success in solid tumors could improve with better drug engineering.
What are Zai Lab’s efforts beyond the field of oncology, and where do you expect the greatest advancements in therapeutics?
Beyond oncology, we are active in immunology, infectious diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. Immunology is a major focus, given advancements in disease understanding and therapeutic technologies. VYVGART for myasthenia gravis, for example, represents meaningful progress in immunological diseases.
We are also developing an internally discovered IL-13/IL-31 bispecific antibody for atopic dermatitis, which enters clinical trials in 2025. Diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis still have significant unmet needs, despite existing treatments.
We see major opportunities in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly schizophrenia, through our KarXT program, which represents the first new mechanism for schizophrenia treatment in over 30 years. Advances in understanding conditions like Alzheimer’s are critical as populations age, and we are engaged in research for psychosis associated with Alzheimer’s.
You spoke of Zai Lab’s partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. How do you square the significant level of cross-border collaboration in this industry with the rising talk of de-globalization?
Innovation happens on a global scale. Different regions may foster breakthroughs, but over time, they can become locked into paradigms. It is essential to incorporate diverse approaches to keep advancing therapies. At Zai Lab, with innovation hubs in Shanghai, San Francisco, and Cambridge, we see the advantages of combining global perspectives. China, for example, has become a leader in ADC technologies, and disregarding this progress would mean missing out on cutting-edge innovation that could benefit patients globally.
Global collaboration is also critical for efficient drug development. Clinical trials take time, and patient populations in regions like Asia are indispensable for swift and effective enrollment. When tackling global health issues such as cancer or Alzheimer’s, the number one priority should be making sure innovations can reach patients faster.
What concrete milestones do you expect Zai Lab to achieve in the coming year?
We aim to grow annual sales by 50%, reaching $2 billion by 2028, and have a clear path to launching our first internally developed and discovered drugs, such as the DLL3-targeted ADC.
Additionally, I anticipate potential approvals for key treatments for schizophrenia and gastric cancer—two critical conditions that are particularly devastating in Asia. Our gastric cancer drug, developed with Amgen, has significant potential in this region. Finally, with advancements in areas like small cell lung cancer and atopic dermatitis, we will continue to demonstrate our evolution from a facilitator of innovation into a global leader.
