Chi­nese start­up with Mer­ck vet at the helm ac­quires rights to Oys­ter Point's eye dis­ease nasal spray

With the Chi­nese drug mar­ket start­ing to bear fruit, West­ern drug­mak­ers have looked to wig­gle their way in, of­ten lean­ing on lo­cal part­ners to do the grunt work on the ground. With so many Chi­nese com­pa­nies play­ing the will­ing host, a fledg­ling start­up with a Mer­ck vet­er­an lead­ing the way will now take on an­oth­er West­ern part­ner of its own.

Ji Xing Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cals has ac­quired the Greater Chi­nese rights to Oys­ter Point Phar­ma’s nasal spray for dry eye dis­ease can­di­dates OC-01 and OC-02 in ex­change for $17.5 mil­lion in up­front cash and 0.75% eq­ui­ty in the emerg­ing Chi­nese biotech, the part­ners said Thurs­day.

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