Fosun Pharma to Acquire Full Control of Fosun Kite, Home to China's First Approved CAR-T Therapy

Intelligent Finance APP News, Fosun Pharmaceutical (600196.SH) announced that on September 13, 2024, its holding subsidiary, Fosun Pharmaceutical Industry, together with Kite Pharma and Fosun Kite, jointly signed the "Equity Transfer Agreement". Fosun Pharmaceutical Industry plans to acquire 50% of Fosun Kite's equity held by Kite Pharma for a cash investment of 27 million US dollars. On the same day, Fosun Pharmaceutical Industry and Kite Pharma signed the "Joint Venture Contract Termination Agreement", the original joint venture contract will be terminated after the equity transfer is completed.

After the completion of this transfer, Fosun Pharmaceutical's stake in Fosun Kite will increase from 50% to 100%, and Fosun Kite will be included in the scope of the group's consolidated financial statements as a subsidiary.

It is reported that Fosun Kite Biotechnology Co., Ltd. mainly engages in the research and development, production, and commercialization of cell therapy products. Its first CAR-T cell therapy product, Yikaida (Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Injection), was approved for marketing in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, hereinafter the same) in June 2021, becoming the first CAR-T cell therapy product to be approved for marketing in China. Since its establishment, Fosun Kite has introduced and promoted the approval and market launch of Yikaida, China's first CAR-T product, filling the gap in the field of lymphoma cell therapy in China.

In addition, the first indication (for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (r/rMCL) who have received two or more prior lines of therapy) and the second indication (relapsed or refractory adult precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, adult r/rALL) of Fosun Kite's second CAR-T cell therapy product, FKC889, were approved to conduct clinical trials in China in 2022. As of the date of this announcement, these indications are in the bridging clinical trial stage in China.

After the completion of this transfer, Fosun Pharmaceutical's stake in Fosun Kite will increase from 50% to 100%. Fosun Kite will be included in the scope of the group's consolidated financial statements as a subsidiary and will serve as the core platform for the group’s cell therapy technology. It will continue to focus on the field of tumor immunotherapy, promoting CAR-T cell therapy products to benefit more patients and meet unmet clinical needs. Meanwhile, the group and Kite Pharma will maintain a long-term strategic partnership through a licensing cooperation model.