TLC signed an agreement with Jixi Biotechnology Partners to form a joint venture in TLC Biopharmaceuticals (H.K.) Limited (TLCHK) with the purpose to conduct clinical studies, register, and commercialize TLC’s pipeline for the China market. The new partnership’s efforts will take place pursuant to recent reforms by the China Food and Drug Administration office (CFDA), which include initiatives designed to accelerate drug approvals and encourage innovation, including greater alignment of China’s review process with that of the US and the EU. TLC’s pipeline focuses on the pain management, ophthalmology, and oncology spaces. The leading product candidate, TLC599, is a sustained release dexamethasone injection which has the potential to alleviate pain suffered by some of the estimated 42 million people with knee osteoarthritis in China. TLC399 is a sustained release dexamethasone injection which aims to treat macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion, a disease estimated to affect around 7.4 million patients in China. TLC590 is a sustained release post-surgical analgesic which has the potential to manage pain following surgical operations, of which there are nearly 40 million in China per year. TLC178 is a liposomal formulation of the anticancer drug vinorelbine which has received a Rare Pediatric Disease Designation from the FDA for rhabdomyosarcoma, which will qualify TLC178 in this indication for priority review in the US and may result in the granting of a transferable Priority Review Voucher that can reduce the standard ten-month FDA review time to six months. TLC has two approved products in oncology which are branded generics or off-patent drugs, a fast-growing sector in China.