On July 3, 2019, the kickoff meeting for the Phase III clinical trial of our company's "Recombinant Human Hepatocyte Growth Factor Naked Plasmid Injection" was successfully held at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. A total of 23 staff members from participating institutions—including the Clinical Pharmacology Institute of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the Department of Vascular Surgery, Beijing Northland Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (the sponsor), Kuntexin Cheng Pharmaceutical R&D (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (the CRO), and Beijing Lianshida Pharmaceutical Technology Development Co., Ltd. (the SMO)—attended the kickoff meeting.

　　The leading unit for the Phase III clinical trial is Peking Union Medical College Hospital, with Professor Changwei Liu from the Department of Vascular Surgery serving as the principal investigator for this trial. The trial is planned to be conducted at 20 centers nationwide. "Recombinant Human Hepatocyte Growth Factor Naked Plasmid Injection" is a gene therapy drug indicated for severe lower-limb ischemic disease. The Phase I and Phase II clinical trials of this project have achieved the expected results, and the Phase III trial will further validate its efficacy and safety.

　　The kickoff meeting of Peking Union Medical College Hospital marks the official launch of Phase III clinical trials for the “Recombinant Human Hepatocyte Growth Factor Naked Plasmid Injection” project. Our institution will make every effort to organize all participating institutions and conduct the study in a high-quality, standardized manner, striving to complete all trials by 2021 and provide an effective therapeutic option for the clinical treatment of severe lower-limb ischemic diseases.