Two Chinese drug developers have signed licensing deals that could yield as much as US$2.5 billion in performance-based payments, underscoring growing international confidence in China’s life sciences sector.
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Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group has agreed to license global rights – excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan – to develop and market a colon cancer drug candidate to F Hoffmann-La Roche, a unit of Swiss-based biotech giant Roche.
Hansoh, a major psychotropic and cancer drugs developer based in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, would get US$80 million upfront and up to US$1.45 billion in milestone payments tied to development, regulatory approval and commercial success of the product, it said in a filing to Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Friday.
“The company will leverage on this opportunity to maximise the scientific and commercial value of the group’s technology platforms,” it said.
The candidate is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets the liver-intestine cadherin molecule, which is strongly associated with the development and progression of gastrointestinal cancers.
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An ADC combines a laboratory-produced monoclonal antibody with a chemotherapy drug. After the antibody binds to proteins on cancer cells, it releases a chemotherapy payload that kills malignant cells while sparing healthy ones.