On 10 July 2026, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, announced its annual list of WIPO Global Awards winners at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Regend Therapeutics, a Chinese enterprise, was selected from over 1,300 applicants across  126 countries, in recognition of  its cutting-edge technology and remarkable achievements in lung regeneration. It was named one of only 11 winners worldwide.

Dr. Zhang Ting, Founder and General Manager of Regend Therapeutics, received the award at the ceremony. China Central Television (CCTV) News Channel also reported on the award.

The WIPO Global Awards recognize startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that use intellectual property to grow their business and develop solutions with a positive impact on society. Hosted by WIPO, a UN specialized agency, the 2026 edition featured six categories: Environment, Information and Communication Technology, Food & Agriculture, Health, Creative Industries, and Sports. Past Chinese winners include industry leaders such as Unitree Robotics and Healinno Tech, among others.

Mr. Marcelo Di Pietro Peralta, Director of WIPO Global Awards, commented: “WIPO Global Award winning companies show how strategic use of intellectual property can promote better business results: more visibility for stronger valuations, stronger basis for new partnerships, important protection in new markets. We are proud to celebrate WGA winners today, and even more eager to support them as they continue their journey. For us, this ceremony is not the finish line. It is the starting point."

Professor Zuo Wei, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Regend Therapeutics and Professor at Tongji University, stated:“This global honour is both an affirmation of our team's years of dedication and a strong recognition from the global scientific and industrial communities of China's leadership in cell therapy innovation. Going forward, we will further deepen our work in organ regenerative medicine and build on this recognition to expand global collaborations, so as to translate our series of advanced patented technologies into clinical applications as soon as possible, benefiting patients worldwide.”

A key highlight of Regend Therapeutics's selection for this international award is its proprietary R-Clone multi-organ epithelial tissue stem cell drug-grade expansion technology platform. The platform recreates the embryonic developmental microenvironment in vitro, enabling the efficient expansion of adult tissue stem cells derived from minute tissue samples and addressing one of the longstanding challenges in regenerative medicine—the limited ex vivo expandability of adult stem cells. The R-Clone platform is supported by a robust and comprehensive intellectual property portfolio spanning the full development lifecycle, including culture media formulations, cell isolation and purification methods, quality and potency assessment, validation using organoid and animal models, clinical-grade manufacturing and therapeutic applications, as well as the development of next-generation products with enhanced functionality. Its applications are broad, extending to multiple tissues and organs including the lung, kidney, uterus, pancreas, stomach, skin, cornea, intestine, prostate, and brain. In terms of core expansion capacity, the platform employs a proprietary clinical-grade small-molecule cocktail medium. Targeting lung progenitor cells, which constitute only about 1% of each biopsy sample, the system achieves targeted enrichment and precise expansion while maintaining genetic stability and molecular phenotype. It enables rapid amplification from a single colony to over a hundred million cells within three to five weeks, with high viability maintained over multiple passages.

Leveraging this technology platform, the company developed REGEND001 (Aeriotemcel), the world's most clinically advanced autologous airway basal stem cell therapy for lung tissue regeneration. Its core mechanism involves extracting healthy airway basal stem cells from the patient's own respiratory tract, expanding them massively via the patented R-Clone technology, and then precisely reintroducing them via bronchoscopy to the patient's damaged lung regions. This effectively repairs injured airways and alveoli, arrests fibrotic progression, and restores normal lung architecture and gas exchange function. Unlike conventional drugs that only provide symptomatic relief, this therapy has the potential to promote lung tissue regeneration and improve pulmonary function, represents a shift from “slowing disease progression” to “reversing disease course”. Preliminary clinical studies show that a single airway basal stem cell transplantation can regenerate an average of over 200 mL of lung tissue, increase lung volume by about 200 mL, prolong patient survival, and significantly improve quality of life.

Currently, as the world's most advanced therapy specifically for emphysematous chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Regend Therapeutics's wholly-owned subsidiary, Shanghai JR, has launched a nationwide multicenter Phase III clinical trial for REGEND001, which has also received funding support from the National Key R&D Programme “Stem Cells and Organ Repair”. In 2025, Regend Therapeutics's novel airway basal stem cell therapy technology was approved for new biomedical technology applications in the Hainan Bo'ao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone. As of July 2026, nearly 200 patients have undergone lung regeneration and repair treatment, with encouraging real-world data supporting its clinical potential and commercial feasibility of REGEND001.

Beyond lung regeneration, Regend Therapeutics has extended the R‑Clone technology to kidney regeneration. Supported by two National Key R&D Programme projects, Regend Therapeutics's renal progenitor cell therapy, REGEND003, entered clinical trials in March 2026 for the treatment of chronic kidney disease. By isolating and expanding autologous renal progenitor cells from urine and transplanting them directly into the kidney, REGEND003 enables nephron regeneration and reconstruction of renal filtration function.

With a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio covering the entire organ regeneration value chain, the company has built a sustainable competitive advantage. Domestic and international partners have expressed strong interest in collaboration and academic exchanges, reflecting strong recognition of its leading technology and innovation capabilities. The WIPO Global Award was also granted in recognition of the innovation, international leadership, and clinical application value of its patents.

Dr. Zhang Ting, Founder and General Manager of Regend Therapeutics, expressed in her acceptance speech: “I sincerely thank the World Intellectual Property Organization and the judging committee for bestowing this Global Award upon our company. Regend is now transitioning from clinical R&D to early commercialisation. We deeply understand that the ultimate value of innovation lies in benefiting patients, and intellectual property provides the foundation that translates scientific discoveries into clinical treatment solutions. Looking ahead, Regend will continue to push scientific boundaries and redefine the future of human health through regenerative medicine.”