▎Edited by the WuXi AppTec content teamFollowing Baili Tianheng's $8.4 billion out-licensing deal in December last year, the热度 of China's innovative drug license-out continues to rise.Since the beginning of 2024, at least six outbound licensing deals have been reached, with a disclosed total amount exceeding $7.5 billion., with numbers comparable to the peak months of November and December last year. Notably, on January 7th, a company established just three years agoArgo Biopharma Achieves License-Out Deal Worth Over $4.1 Billion,Adds a significant and vibrant stroke to China's small nucleic acid drug field.，Will Also Boost the Outbound Licensing Market for Innovative Drugs in JanuaryPushed to a new climax。Other highlights worth mentioning include:New Faces Emerge: Over Half of License-Outs Come from Next-Gen Innovative Drug CompaniesAmong them, Allorion Therapeutics and MediLink were both founded in 2020. The former focuses on the research and development of small-molecule precision medicine, having developed two drug candidate molecules that have advanced to the clinical stage. The latter’s ADC platform technology has the potential to widen the therapeutic window of such drugs, gaining favor from companies like Roche and BioNTech. Argo Biopharma was established in 2021 and has built over 20 pipelines based on RNAi platform technology, with five projects currently in the clinical stage.
Allorion Therapeutics Achieves 2 License-Out Deals:January,Allorion Therapeutics Partners with AstraZeneca in a Licensing Deal Worth Over $500 Million for a Potential Small Molecule Allosteric Inhibitor for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer; Additionally, Secures Another $500 Million+ License-Out Collaboration with U.S.-Based Avenzo Therapeutics, Including CDK2 Inhibitors.
ADC Remains Hot, Small Nucleic Acid Drugs Show Potential:The ADC Drug License-Out Boom at the End of 2023 Continues into This MonthRoche introduced for over 1 billion US dollarsMediLink ADC Drug; In Addition,Novartis引进Argo Biopharma多款RNAi疗法，交易金额超41亿美元，创下1月潜在MostHigh Outward Licensing Transaction Value，Demonstrates the development potential of small nucleic acid drugs.
The following will briefly introduce some important license-out events for readers' reference.Over $4.1 Billion! Novartis Acquires Multiple RNAi Therapies from Argo Biopharma
On January 7, Argo Biopharma, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of next-generation RNA interference (RNAi) therapies, announced that it had signed two exclusive license and collaboration agreements with Novartis. Argo Biopharma will receive an upfront payment of $185 million from Novartis and is eligible to receive potential option fees, milestone payments, and tiered royalties on commercial sales. The total potential value of the two deals could reach up to $4.165 billion.
According to the first agreement,Argo Grants Novartis Exclusive Global License for Development and Commercialization of a Phase 1 Cardiovascular Disease ProgramNovartis will also have the option to obtain potential licenses for up to two additional targets in compounds targeting cardiovascular diseases. Under the second agreement, Argo has granted Novartis an exclusive license for the development and commercialization rights outside of Greater China for a Phase 1/2a clinical-stage project in cardiovascular disease treatment.These projects, discovered and developed using Argo's advanced RNAi technology, will strengthen and expand Novartis' RNAi pipeline in the cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CVM) field.
Argo Biopharma was founded in April 2021, headquartered in Shanghai, focusing on the development of RNAi drugs. Previously, Argo Biopharma completed an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of yuan, an A round of financing exceeding 400 million yuan, and an A+ round of financing worth 300 million yuan.Over $1 Billion! Roche Acquires MediLink's Next-Generation ADC
On January 2, MediLink announced that it had reached a global collaboration and licensing agreement with Roche. The two parties will collaborate on the development.Next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidate targeting mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-MET), YL211 (c-MET ADC), for the treatment of solid tumors.Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will obtain exclusive global rights for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of MediLink's YL211 project. MediLink will collaborate with Roche China Innovation Center (CICoR) to advance the YL211 project into Phase 1 clinical trials, after which Roche will take over further global development and commercialization. Roche will pay MediLink an upfront payment and near-term milestone payments totaling $50 million, along with potential development, regulatory, and commercial milestones worth up to nearly $1 billion, as well as tiered royalties based on future global annual net sales.YL211 is a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate that specifically targets c-MET.It adopts the new generation TMALIN ADC platform technology of MediLink and is combined with a highly specific c-MET antibody.Currently in the clinical application stage.MediLink was founded in 2020, with its headquarters located in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, focusing on ADC drug development. Previously, MediLink completed a Series A financing round of 350 million yuan and a Series B financing round of 70 million US dollars.Over $1 Billion!
Avenzo Therapeutics Acquires Allorion Therapeutics' CDK2 Inhibitors and More
On January 4, Allorion Therapeutics announced a transfer agreement with U.S.-based Avenzo Therapeutics, under which the latter will obtain a self-developed product from Allorion Therapeutics.Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 (CDK2) Selective Inhibitor ARTS-021(Avenzo company code AVZO-021) Global (excluding Greater China) development and commercialization rights, as well as an exclusive option for a preclinical program expected to submit an IND in early 2025.
According to the terms of the agreement, Allorion Therapeutics will receive an upfront payment of $40 million, additional payments for development and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties on sales. The potential total payments for the two projects will exceed $1 billion.
According to the press release from Allorion Therapeutics, the company's self-developed ARTS-021 demonstrated high kinase selectivity, favorable pharmacokinetic properties, and good preclinical efficacy in preclinical studies. It is currently undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials at multiple centers in the United States for the treatment of HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors.Notably, this follows Allorion Therapeutics' announcement on January 2nd of a collaboration with AstraZeneca worth over $500 million.Licensing CollaborationFollowing this, another license-out collaboration was achieved.Allorion Therapeutics was founded in 2020, with offices and laboratories in both Boston, USA, and Guangzhou, China, focusing on the research and development of novel small molecule drugs for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Previously,Allorion TherapeuticsRui Bio has completed a Pre-A round of financing, a $40 million Series A round, and a $50 million Series B round.Over $500 Million!
Stemline Therapeutics Introduces KAT6 Small Molecule Inhibitor from Insilico Medicine
On January 3, Stemline Therapeutics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Menarini Group, announced that it had entered into a licensing agreement with Insilico Medicine. Stemline will pay an upfront fee of $12 million to gain access to Insilico Medicine's...Novel Small Molecule Inhibitor ISM5043 Targeting KAT6The global exclusive development and commercialization rights, with the total transaction amount expected to potentially exceed 500 million US dollars.
According to the terms of the agreement, the total value of the collaboration between the Menarini Group and Insilico Medicine exceeds US$500 million, including a US$12 million upfront payment, as well as subsequent development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. Additionally, Insilico Medicine is also eligible to receive potential royalties that could reach double-digit percentages.
ISM5043 is a small molecule inhibitor designed and developed with the assistance of InSilico Medicine's artificial intelligence platform, Pharma.AI. It holds promise for the treatment of ER+/HER2- breast cancer and other cancers. The molecule is currently in the preclinical development stage.
InSilico MedicineFounded in 2014, it is an end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company. Since its establishment, it has completed five rounds of financing.Readers, please star ⭐Chuangjianhui to receive push notifications in the first place.
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