Fosun Pharma Upgrades Cell Therapy Business by Acquiring 100% Stake in Fosun Kite to Deepen Focus on Tumor Immunotherapy

On September 13, 2024, Fosun Pharmaceutical (Stock Code: 600196.SH; 02196.HK) announced that its holding subsidiary, Fosun Pharmaceutical Industry, will wholly own Fosun Kite Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and continue the existing licensed collaboration with Kite Pharma in the CAR-T cell therapy field.

According to the announcement, in this transaction, Fosun Pharmaceutical Industry will acquire 50% of the equity in Fosun Kite held by Kite Pharma, thereby enabling Fosun Pharmaceutical to achieve 100% ownership of Fosun Kite. At the same time, Fosun Kite and Kite Pharma will comprehensively amend and restate the original licensing agreement. The announcement states that Fosun Kite should pay an accumulated milestone of 10 million US dollars to Kite Pharma within 90 days after the equity transfer, and will pay up to 25 million US dollars in sales milestones to Kite Pharma based on the achievement of annual net sales of licensed products. Additionally, Fosun Kite should pay royalties to Kite Pharma at varying rates of 7%-13% on the annual net sales of all licensed products within the licensed territory.

After wholly-owned control, Fosun Kite is proposed to be renamed as Fosun Kite Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and will serve as the core platform for Fosun Pharmaceutical's cell therapy technology. It will continue to focus on the field of tumor immunotherapy, promote CAR-T cell therapy products to benefit more patients, and meet unmet clinical needs. In the future, Fosun Pharmaceutical and Kite Pharma will maintain a long-term strategic partnership through a licensing cooperation model.