Fosun Pharma unit licenses lung cancer drug to Eisai in US$1.55 billion deal

A unit of Fosun Pharma has struck a US$1.55 billion deal to license its home-grown cancer drug to Japan’s Eisai, adding to a wave of out-licensing agreements that are channelling billions of dollars into Chinese novel drug development. The deal comes as Chinese novel drug makers are having more say in how their new medicines are developed with global partners, shifting from simple one-off licensing fees, where a company is paid for granting rights to its drug, to long-term collaborations. Under the agreement signed on Thursday, Eisai will pay Shanghai Henlius Biotech, a subsidiary of Fosun Pharma, an upfront fee of US$75 million for exclusive rights to commercialise serplulimab – a monoclonal antibody used for the treatment of cancers – and co-exclusive rights to develop and manufacture the drug in Japan, according to a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Henlius is conducting a phase two trial in Japan to test the drug’s effectiveness in small cell lung cancer and aims to file for approval in the coming year while also planning a separate study to see if it can help stomach cancer patients. The Fosun subsidiary is also eligible for up to US$80 million in regulatory milestone payments and as much as US$233 million linked to annual net sales, on top of double-digit royalty payments on future revenue. “Serplulimab has already shown its potential in indications with significant unmet medical needs and has obtained approvals in China and the EU,” said Toshihiko Yusa, executive officer and head of Japan business at Eisai. “Eisai will work closely with Henlius to deliver serplulimab to patients in Japan as quickly as possible.” The cancer treatment has been approved for sale in over 40 markets, including mainland China, all 27 members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and India. In late January, Shanghai-based Harbour BioMed increased its stake in US-based Spruce Biosciences by exercising warrants granted under a licensing agreement, giving it about 3.8 per cent of Spruce’s total outstanding shares. Analysts said the move reflected Chinese biotech’s push for joint development with global partners. On February 2, SanegeneBio, a clinical-stage biotechnology firm which operates in the US and China, signed a global licensing agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to advance one of its programmes on experimental drugs that uses a process called RNA interference (RNAi) to switch off disease-related genes. Under the deal, SanegeneBio would receive up to US$1.5 billion in upfront and milestone payments, plus tiered royalties, in return for granting Genentech exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialise the product. SanegeneBio would handle early development work, while Genentech would take over later-stage clinical development and commercialisation. Chinese drug makers signed a record US$136 billion worth of out-licensing deals across 157 transactions last year, racing to partner with global pharmaceutical giants that are scrambling to replace revenue as patents on blockbuster drugs start to expire before 2030. In October last year, Japan’s Takeda made a US$100 million equity investment in Innovent Biologics via new shares issued at a 20 per cent premium when it signed a deal worth up to US$11.4 billion for two late-stage oncology assets.