(LG Chem) LG Chem said Wednesday it has signed a strategic partnership with Shanghai-based OTR Therapeutics to identify and develop promising oncology drug candidates, strengthening its push into China's fast-growing biotechnology sector.OTR Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that combines in-house research with open innovation to discover and develop treatments for cancer, immunological and inflammatory diseases, and metabolic disorders.Under the agreement, LG Chem will leverage OTR's drug discovery expertise and industry network to identify, evaluate and in-license promising oncology candidates from Chinese biopharmaceutical companies.The companies will split development responsibilities to speed commercialization. OTR will lead preclinical and early-stage clinical development in China, while LG Chem will oversee late-stage global clinical trials and commercialization.LG Chem said China has become a major hub for innovative drug development, supported by government policies that encourage pharmaceutical innovation and streamlined clinical trial regulations that have improved development speed and cost efficiency.According to a JPMorgan report, Chinese-developed drug candidates accounted for about 30 percent of the global innovative drug pipeline last year."The collaboration with OTR strengthens our ability to systematically identify and validate promising drug candidates in China, which has become a major center for innovative drug development," said Son Jee-woong, head of LG Chem's Life Sciences Business Division."By securing promising assets at an early stage, we aim to create future development opportunities, strengthen our global competitiveness and improve patients' access to innovative treatments," he said."By combining OTR's agile R&D and business development capabilities with LG Chem's expertise in clinical development and commercialization, we aim to transform early-stage innovations into high-value oncology therapies," said Zhui Chen, founder and CEO of OTR Therapeutics.