[caption id="attachment_9277" align="aligncenter" width="747"] Press Release[/caption] SHANGHAI,?Sept. 23, 2019?/PRNewswire/ -- I-Mab Biopharma ("I-Mab"), a?China?and U.S.-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company exclusively focusing on the discovery and development of potential first-in-class and best-in-class biologics in immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases, today announced that it has entered into a clinical research collaboration agreement with MSD, a tradename of Merck & Co., Inc.,?Kenilworth, NJ., USA, to evaluate the combination of I-Mab's TJC4 and MSD's anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA^??(pembrolizumab) in patients with multiple cancer types. Under this collaboration agreement, MSD will supply KEYTRUDA^??(pembrolizumab) to I-Mab for use in clinical studies in combination with TJC4, a fully human anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody. Both parties will collaborate on a Phase 1 clinical trial, based on an agreed and finalized protocol, to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and preliminary efficacy of TJC4 and KEYTRUDA^??in patients with multiple cancer types. "TJC4 is a highly differentiated anti-CD47 antibody currently under clinical development. This collaboration will provide an excellent opportunity to further explore therapeutic potential of combining TJC4 with KEYTRUDA^??across different tumor types." said Dr.?Jingwu Zang, Founder and Chairman of I-Mab. KEYTRUDA^??is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.,?Kenilworth, NJ, USA. About TJC4 CD47 represents one of the most promising immuno-oncology targets. The current investigational drugs targeting the CD47-SIRPa pathway have undesirable properties of binding to human red blood cells (RBC) or platelets. Such unwanted binding properties have been shown in pre-clinical and clinical settings to cause hematologic side-effects, e.g., anemia and thrombocytopenia, and the so-called "antigen sink effect" that affects pharmacokinetics of the investigational drugs. TJC4 is a highly differentiated monoclonal antibody made, by design, to recognize a unique epitope on CD47 and avoid strong binding to red blood cells. As such, TJC4 did not cause anemia in non-human primate studies,while it was shown to maintain anti-tumor activities. TJC4 is currently under clinical development in the U.S. and has been granted an IND approval by?the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to start clinical trials in?China. About I-Mab: I-Mab is a dynamic and fast-growing global biotech company exclusively focused on developing biologics of first-in-class or best-in-class potential in the therapeutic areas of immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases. I-Mab's mission is to bring transformational medicines to patients through innovation.?I-Mab's innovative pipeline of more than 10 clinical and pre-clinical stage drug candidates is driven by the Company's Fast-to-PoC (Proof-of-Concept) and Fast-to-Market development strategies through internal R&D and global partnerships. The Company is on track to become a fully integrated end-to-end global biopharmaceutical company with cutting-edge discovery platforms, proven preclinical and clinical development expertise, and world-class GMP manufacturing capabilities. I-Mab is well-recognized by capital markets to have successfully raised over?US$400 million?in equity financing since its establishment in 2016. Its recent?USD 200 million?Series C financing represents one of the largest amounts ever raised by a biotech company in?China.