Arbele Limited is a biotechnology company that concentrates on the development of immunotherapies and diagnostics for gastrointestinal cancer. The organization has accomplished several noteworthy milestones in recent years, including the establishment of R&D hubs in the United States and Hong Kong in 2016, the development of five to six drug candidates between 2016 and 2020, and the receipt of awards and grants.

The company's lead drug candidate, Arv2, successfully completed phase I studies in 2019, and subsequently underwent an FDA meeting in 2021. In 2022, clinical trials for Arv2 in Australia were initiated and are planned to expand these trials internationally in the near future. Technological platforms include natural killer (NK) cell therapies, bispecific antibodies, and diagnostics. The company's patient target consists of patients with advanced gastrointestinal tract (GI) cancer in Asia, where the incidence of this disease is high. Additionally, the diagnostic platform has been designed to target high-risk colorectal cancer populations in China. R&D efforts are conducted in the United States, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, and drug production is handled by contract manufacturing organizations based in China through CDMOs.

Arbele has an exclusive license for its CAR-T17 target based on a previous work in Hong Kong. Understanding the eligible patient market size is key for a bispecific antibody project targeting resistance in NSCLC.

As a start-up, Arbele's highest costs were operational expenses for laboratories, equipment, and hiring staff to conduct R&D and apply for grants. Building a strong team and conducting thorough market research are also important for commercialization.

Formally, through an interview, the individual responsible for Arbele recounted the company's evolution from its inception as a biotechnology concept to its present status as a global enterprise with multiple subsidiaries. They also reviewed our business plan and provided valuable insights and recommendations for enhancing its effectiveness. Furthermore, they detailed the structure of their organization and how it has evolved over time, offering valuable lessons on how to approach our own future growth. Additionally, they granted us access to their laboratory, enabling us to gain firsthand knowledge of the production processes and protocols employed in large-scale operations.

Our commercialization plan requires financial resources to transform our vision into reality. With this in mind, we actively pursued funding opportunities, including participating in the Health Future Challenge (HFC) funding competition. Organized by the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS) and the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (ABCT) at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the objective of the competition was to identify impactful health-tech innovations, encourage interdisciplinary team formation, and enhance domain expertise through translational research and startups. The winner of the competition was to receive a prize of 500,000 HKD and an incubation program.

During the competition, which was held in August, we participated in a two-day ideation gala workshop, where we gained valuable insights into commercialization and pitching. The workshop was graciously hosted by Mr. Michael Tsui, the CEO of Deltason Medical Ltd., a Hong Kong-based pharmacy start-up. Additionally, we had the opportunity to participate in mentoring sessions with experts from various health and biotechnology companies, including A.R. Medicom Inc. (Asia) Ltd., Nin Jiom Health Products Limited, Industrial Centre at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Acesobee Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and SyngularTechnology. These sessions allowed us to discuss our business plan and to receive feedback from professionals in the field.

We are pleased to inform that our participation in the HFC competition was highly successful, as we were distinguished as one of the final 20 teams. Although we were not awarded the final monetary prize, the experience provided us with exceptional insights and comments from various sectors involved in commercialization. These valuable suggestions have been integrated into our business and future plans, resulting in an even stronger commercialization strategy.

We gave due consideration to the crucial aspects of creating a robust business foundation and expended considerable time and resources to draft a comprehensive business plan. This plan serves as a roadmap, outlining our strategy for commercialization, marketing tactics, sales projections, and financial forecasting. The plan provides a clear understanding of our goals, market opportunities, and competitive advantages. To enhance our planning process, we conducted an interview with Arbele Limited, from which we gained valuable insights into the nuances of developing a global market presence and building a strong company structure.