(Yicai Global) Dec. 1 -- Guangdong Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical Co. [SHE:002317], has obtained a patent certificate from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) for a new anti-cancer drug developed in conjunction with WuXi AppTec Group, a pharmaceutical R&D company based in Shanghai, the company said in a press briefing yesterday.

The event marks the first time that the company has won an international patent license through the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

The drug is used to treat malignant tumors related to lung cancer, gastric and esophageal cancer. The company has already received approvals to carry out a clinical trial and has started test work.

Winning the license from the CIPO is an important milestone in the internationalization of Guangdong Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical's new product development, and will further improve its intellectual property protection system, the company said.

Guangdong Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical, founded in 1979, currently owns seven subsidiaries and engages in R&D related to ophthalmology, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other diseases.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty, established in 1978, comes under the administration of the World Intellectual Property Organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It now has 152 contracting states in the world.