CStone Pharmaceuticals and Kimia Therapeutics Launch Clinical Collaboration for First-in-Class Solid Tumor Asset

CStone Pharmaceuticals and Kimia Therapeutics have entered a clinical collaboration to advance a potential first-in-class drug candidate targeting the DNA damage response pathway in solid tumors. CStone will lead Phase I development in mainland China and Australia, the companies said in a PR Newswire announcement on November 3, 2026.

How the CStone and Kimia Collaboration Works

Under the agreement, CStone Pharmaceuticals will run the Phase I study, which includes dose-escalation and expansion components in biomarker-selected patient populations. The study is designed to evaluate safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and early activity.

Kimia Therapeutics will provide clinical supply of the asset, scientific guidance, product-related regulatory oversight and other agreed development support. Kimia will reimburse CStone for applicable clinical development costs.

CStone is eligible to receive milestone payments plus royalties on global net sales of the asset during the applicable royalty term. The companies described the arrangement as a co-development model built on each party's complementary strengths.

Dr. Jason Yang, Chief Executive Officer, President of R&D and Executive Director of CStone, said: "This collaboration establishes a scalable framework with the potential to support additional programs with Kimia and other TCG portfolio companies, connecting promising innovation with a clear path to efficient and robust clinical development."

Stig Hansen, CEO of Kimia Therapeutics, said: "CStone's expertise in oncology clinical development will be valuable as we evaluate our lead asset in phase I proof-of-concept studies in bio-marker selected patient populations and generate the clinical evidence needed to guide its further development."

CStone's Recent Deal and Pipeline Activity

CStone's partnership record includes an exclusive commercialization agreement with Arrotex Pharmaceuticals for sugemalimab in Australia and New Zealand, extending its global commercial footprint to over 60 countries, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show CStone initiated a global Phase I dose-escalation and expansion study for CS5007, an EGFR/HER3 bispecific ADC, enrolling approximately 310 patients across Australia and China.

Earlier CStone Milestones Leading to the Kimia Deal

In October 2026, CStone reported CS2009 clinical results from over 300 patients at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2026, showing an 87.5% response rate in first-line PD-L1-high lung cancer, The future of trading reported. In August 2026, CStone reported 2026 interim revenue of RMB205.1 million and a loss of RMB252.3 million, PR Newswire reported. In July 2026, CStone announced plans to initiate global Phase III multi-regional clinical trials for CS2009 by the end of 2026, AInvest reported.

Kimia's First Quarter 2027 Clinical Timeline

Kimia said its lead oncology program is entering clinical development in the first quarter of 2027. The company's ATLAS platform combines machine learning-guided molecular design with high-throughput nanogram-scale synthesis and direct-to-biology screening.