Xynomic Pharmaceuticals

Xynomic Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment. Established in 2016 by co-founders Y. Mark Xu, W. Jason Wu, and Yong Cui, the company operates with a headquarters in Shanghai, China, and a presence in the United States. The company's strategic approach centers on in-licensing late-stage oncology drug candidates to build its development pipeline. This model allows Xynomic to leverage existing clinical data, potentially reducing development timelines and costs.

The founder, Y. Mark Xu, is a serial entrepreneur with a background that bridges Silicon Valley and China's life sciences sector. His previous ventures include co-founding Bridge Labs and Pacific Biopharma Group, which later merged with Pharmacyclics. This experience in both the US and Chinese biopharmaceutical industries is central to Xynomic's strategy of acquiring global rights to promising cancer therapies. Mr. Xu holds an MBA from Stanford University and an MS in Chemistry from Purdue University, combining scientific knowledge with business acumen.

Xynomic's business model is to generate revenue through the development and subsequent sale of its portfolio of oncology drugs. The company's primary focus is on advancing its drug candidates through clinical trials to gain regulatory approval in major markets like the U.S., China, and the EU. To fund its extensive research and development activities, the company seeks financial support from partners and has considered options such as M&A or an IPO. In 2019, Xynomic underwent a reverse merger with Bison Capital Acquisition Corp., becoming a publicly traded entity. However, in 2021, the company completed a short form merger to go private.

The company's lead product candidate is Abexinostat (XP-101), an orally administered HDAC inhibitor. Xynomic acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to Abexinostat from Pharmacyclics, a subsidiary of AbbVie, in 2017. Abexinostat is being evaluated in multiple clinical trials for various cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (in combination with pazopanib) and follicular lymphoma (as a monotherapy). Another significant asset in their pipeline is XP-105, an mTORC1/2 kinase inhibitor acquired from Boehringer Ingelheim, which is being developed for solid tumors. The pipeline also includes XP-102, a pan-RAF inhibitor, demonstrating a strategy of targeting different cancer pathways.

Keywords: clinical-stage biopharmaceutical, oncology drug development, small molecule therapeutics, cancer treatment, in-licensing, Abexinostat, HDAC inhibitor, renal cell carcinoma, follicular lymphoma, mTORC1/2 inhibitor, pan-RAF inhibitor, Y. Mark Xu, clinical trials, oncology pipeline, drug commercialization, US-China pharma, targeted cancer therapy, oncology assets, biopharma R&D, cancer drug candidates