Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) has inked a research collaboration and licensing agreement with Regor Therapeutics Group, which is co-located in China and Boston. Lilly says as part of the deal, the companies will work together to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapies for metabolic disorders.

Per the terms of the agreement, Lilly will have a license to select Regor intellectual property, for which it will be responsible for the clinical development, manufacturing and worldwide commercialization, except in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“Through this collaboration, we will have the opportunity to expand treatment options available to patients suffering from metabolic disorders,” said Dr. Ruth Gimeno, vice president, diabetes research and clinical investigation at Lilly. “Regor’s technology will also allow Lilly to further accelerate innovation and deliver breakthrough therapies in obesity and diabetes.”

Regor will receive an upfront payment of $50 million, with the potential to receive up to $1.5 billion in payments based on the achievement of certain milestones, as well as tiered royalties. The initial payment partially includes an equity investment by Lilly.

Courtesy: Inside Indiana Business

On October 26th, ACSI hosted its sixth annual China Business Conference on an online platform which included virtual exhibition booths, B2B directory, and interactive livestream. The half-day event, which hosted more than 135 business and government leaders, focused on the changing business dynamic between the U.S. and China and how Indiana businesses can cope with trade uncertainties. Speakers and panelists included:

After the Business Conference, a networking reception was held at Barnes & Thornburg’s downtown Indianapolis office. New Indiana Secretary of Commerce Mr. Brad Chambers delivered welcome remarks followed by the presentation of ACSI’s “Chen Legacy Award” to Mr. Harrison Ding.

Thank you to our 2021 Sponsors who helped make this event a success!

“Is it too late to invest in China? Have tariffs and rising political tensions ended future opportunities for US business interests in China? These are the questions that business leaders have pondered since the onset of the US-China trade war in 2018. Some American business professionals would answer a resounding ‘yes,’ particularly as troves of foreign businesses have begun the process of decoupling from China amid a growing pessimism regarding the state of bilateral relations. On the other hand, some statistics have boldly declared that trade relations are better than ever. In fact, US trade in goods with China is up 36% through the first eight months of 2021 from the pre-pandemic environment in 2019.

In order to obtain a clearer understanding of the current state and future outlook of US-China business relations on a local level, we spoke with the directors of two different US-based China business organizations. Both Pat McAloon, the Executive Director of the Greater Columbus Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and Colin Renk, Executive Director of the America China Society of Indiana, oversee the operations of their respective non-profit organizations that specialize in assisting local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to do business in China. Leveraging their member networks of SMEs and their own day-to-day experience, both Pat and Colin provided unique perspectives on US-China business relations from the point-of-view of the American heartland.”

Read Full Article: https://thechinaguys.com/us-china-foundation-business-relations-american-heartland/

HempRise, a subsidiary of China-based Layn Natural Ingredients, opened the doors to its new 100,000 square foot facility last Thursday in Jeffersonville, Ind.

The $80 million facility is expected to reach full capacity next year becoming one of the largest hemp-producing facilities in the U.S.

“HempRise has a passion for unleashing mother nature’s healing power by creating natural ingredients with amazing health benefits, we bring science and economy of scale together to make hemp derived cannabinoids widely available to the masses ,” said Dr. Zheng Yang, general manager of HempRise. “We are also committed to help building local community and contribute to the growth of manufacturing in Indiana.”

The facility, which will extract and process CBD from hemp, will process up to 8 million pounds of biomass per year within the River Ridge Commerce Center.

“We have a broad spectrum of industrial sectors that are represented at River Ridge,” said Jerry Acy, executive director of the River Ridge Development Authority. “We are really excited and happy to be part of this emerging industry in the state of Indiana and the region.”