The board of directors of Beijing Luzhu Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced that, the multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial of LZ901, the core product of the Group, has been initiated on September 26, 2023 in the People's Republic of China (the "PRC"), to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of LZ901 for the prevention of herpes zoster in adults aged 40 years and older, with the first group of subjects having been enrolled as of the date of this announcement. The study will be conducted in four provinces including Jiangsu, Shandong, Hubei and Shanxi, with a planned enrollment of approximately 26,000 healthy subjects aged 40 years and older. The Phase I and Phase II clinical trials of LZ901 in China were completed in April 2022 and May 2023, respectively.

The safety and immunogenicity analysis results obtained demonstrated that LZ901 has favorable safety profile and immunogenicity profile. In addition, the Group has newly secured registration of its invention patent for LZ901 in Japan. As of the date of this announcement, the invention patent for LZ901 has been granted in the PRC, Russia and Japan.

LZ901 targets to prevent shingles in adults age 40 years and older. Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash that can materially and negatively impact quality of life. Shingles can reoccur, with the recurrence rate increasing with age.

There are currently no specific drugs that can cure shingles and vaccination is the only way to protect people against shingles and its complications, which is also the cost-effective way to prevent the occurrence of the diseases.