Citrine and Sinopharm Enter Strategic Partnership to Broaden Access to Rare Disease Drugs in China

China-based rare disease drug company Citrine Medicine and the Chinese pharmaceutical Sinopharm Group today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the commercialization of rare disease drugs in China.

The two companies said they will work together to build a rare disease ecosystem in China and enable the availability of more rare disease therapies to Chinese patients in need.

As part of the collaboration, Sinopharm Group will help Citrine in building a supply chain and secure distribution channels for delivering rare disease therapies. Sinopharm Group has more than 1,000 branches and subsidiaries, covering 388 cities in 31 provinces in China. That allows the company to reach patients in urban and rural regions across China.

“This new partnership with Sinopharm Group brings us closer to our vision of creating the very first rare disease ecosystem for patients in China,” said Melissa Bradford-Klug, president and chief business officer of Citrine. “By working with Sinopharm, we will strengthen our relationships with strategic partners across China, including state-run distribution networks, enabling us to more rapidly bring more first- and best-in-class breakthrough therapies to the approximately 20 million patients with rare diseases living in China.”

Photo: Melissa Bradford-Klug, president and chief business officer of Citrine