On October 9, 2024, NORTHLAND’s Shanghai branch officially opened its doors with great fanfare at the Lifeng Skyline Center in Jing'an District. Chairman Xu Songsan led the management team and members of the sales team to attend the opening ceremony. Han Yi, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Suhe Bay Management Committee of Shanghai Municipality; Gu Wei, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Tianmu West Road Subdistrict Office in Jing'an District; and Lan Tian, Deputy Director of the same office, along with leaders from Zhongtai Securities, Fuguo Fund, GTJA, and Ocumetics, attended the ceremony to jointly witness and celebrate the opening of NORTHLAND’s Shanghai branch.

        Mr. Xu Songsan, Chairman of the company, delivered a speech. He began by reviewing NORTHLAND’s 20-year development journey. Founded in 2004 in Haidian District, Beijing, NORTHLAND has now established a core business integrating the research, development, production, and marketing of innovative bioengineering drugs and ophthalmic medications. It is a “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” high-tech enterprise driven by technological innovation and was among the first companies to list on the Beijing Stock Exchange in 2021. Currently, the company is focusing on gene therapy drugs as its key growth area; three innovative bioengineering drugs have already entered the clinical research stage. The ophthalmic drug business is experiencing rapid growth and has become a solid foundation for NORTHLAND’s sustained development. The company’s flagship project, “Recombinant Human Hepatocyte Growth Factor Naked Plasmid Injection” (code-named NL003), has now completed Phase III clinical trials. Its intended indication is severe lower-limb ischemic disease. According to incomplete statistics, there are approximately 4.5 million patients in China, and currently, no therapeutic drugs are available clinically. The launch of this drug will change the current clinical situation where no effective treatment exists, providing clinicians with a new, safe, and effective treatment option. The project is currently undergoing the review and approval process for new drug registration and is expected to receive approval for market launch next year, becoming China’s first naked-plasmid-based gene therapy drug. To prepare for the commercialization of NL003, the company has established a branch office in Shanghai, using Shanghai as the hub for sales operations. In collaboration with numerous distributors, NORTHLAND will build a nationwide sales network and steadily develop and penetrate the pharmaceutical market.

Lan Tian, Deputy Director of the Tianmu West Road Subdistrict Office in Jing'an District, delivered a speech on behalf of the local authorities. He welcomed NORTHLAND's entry into Shanghai, provided a comprehensive overview of Jing'an District's industrial environment, investment promotion efforts, and industrial policies, and pledged to offer the company thoughtful and meticulous services. He also congratulated NORTHLAND on the successful launch of its commercial operations in Shanghai.

The attending guests performed the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Shanghai branch. Xu Songshan, Chairman of the company, and Zhao Lei, General Manager of the Shanghai branch, unveiled the plaque for the branch office, officially announcing the commencement of operations of the NORTHLAND Pharmaceutical Sales Center.

The establishment of NORTHLAND’s Shanghai branch represents an important strategic move and a new commercial starting point for the company. It marks a significant milestone in the company’s transformation from a biotech firm into a biopharmaceutical enterprise integrating R&D, manufacturing, and sales. We look forward to the early approval and launch of NL003. The company will strive to develop this new drug into a “blockbuster” product, generating both substantial economic and social benefits.