On December 11, 2021, a regional academic conference jointly organized by NORTHLAND and the Department of Vascular Surgery of Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital was held in Qingdao. The conference was themed "The Application of Gene Therapy in Lower Limb Ischemic Diseases." More than 20 experts from the fields of vascular surgery, representing nine hospitals—including Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital, Qingdao Haici Hospital (Qingdao Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital), and other hospitals in Qingdao city and its surrounding areas—participated in the conference. The conference was chaired by Wang Haofu, Director of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital.

        At the meeting, Han Chengquan, Vice President of R&D at the company, presented an overview of global progress in gene therapy drug development and outlined future R&D directions. He also shared insights into the mechanism of action and clinical research progress of our company’s NL003 for the treatment of lower-limb ischemic disease. The attending experts exchanged information on existing clinical treatments—including surgery, interventional procedures, and minimally invasive techniques—for lower-limb ischemic disease, as well as their respective experiences. Furthermore, the experts reached a consensus on collaborating to participate in this Phase III clinical study, with the aim of providing patients with more potential treatment options.

        Xu Songshan, Chairman of the company, stated that our company’s clinical study on NL003 is currently progressing smoothly. In the face of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has been actively exploring countermeasures and examining new models for clinical research collaboration. These new models center on clinical department units and relevant internal hospital departments, and involve establishing regional collaborative networks in conjunction with external hospitals. At the same time, we have engaged specialized recruitment agencies to broaden the scope of subject enrollment. Currently, regional collaborative networks have been established in Jilin, Dalian, Chongqing, Xi'an, Xuzhou, and other cities, and we have forged collaborative relationships with more than 50 hospitals. The company will continue to promote this clinical research collaboration model and accelerate the progress of our clinical studies.

        Director Wang Haofu concluded his remarks by stating that, with the rapid advancement of biotechnology, clinical medicine has entered a new era of gene therapy. Gene therapy drugs and gene therapy technologies are now offering novel treatment options for genetic diseases, rare diseases, chronic illnesses, and cancer, and have already achieved promising therapeutic outcomes. NL003 is one of the few gene therapy drugs worldwide that has advanced to Phase III clinical trials. It boasts high innovation, a well-defined mechanism of action, and favorable preliminary research results. He called on the attending experts to actively participate in and support the clinical studies of this project, making positive contributions to the early launch of China’s innovative drugs with independent intellectual property rights.