Pfizer Secures Rights to Develop and Commercialize Sisunatovir for RSV in Greater China and Singapore

On December 19, 2022, Pfizer's official WeChat platform announced: Pfizer, Inc. and LianBioPfizer Announces Exercise of Option to Acquire Development and Commercialization Rights for Sisunatovir, an RSV Treatment Candidate, in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore from LianBio under Strategic Collaboration Agreement to Bring More Innovative Drugs to Greater China

Sisunatovir is an investigational oral fusion inhibitor designed to block RSV replication by inhibiting the fusion of the virus with host cells mediated by the F protein. The efficacy of sisunatovir as a potential therapy for treating pediatric and adult patients infected with RSV is currently being evaluated.

Jean-Christophe Pointeau, President of Pfizer Global Biopharmaceuticals Commercial Group, China Region, stated："Pfizer has always been committed to advancing the development of potentially critical vaccines and therapies to help address significant unmet medical needs in the field of global infectious disease treatment, including Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). We are pleased to see that our current series of collaborations with LianBio have the potential to provide more patients with the urgent treatments they need. We believe that if clinical studies are successful and regulatory approval is obtained, sisunatovir could transform the current standard of care for RSV patients, for whom treatment options are currently very limited."

LianBio Chief Executive Officer Dr. Wang Yizhe stated:"Like LianBio, Pfizer has also recognized a significant gap in the treatment of patient populations vulnerable to severe RSV complications, and sisunatovir holds promise in addressing this unmet medical need. During a typical RSV transmission season, over 400,000 children and elderly patients are hospitalized in China due to RSV-related lower respiratory tract infections. Pfizer is widely acknowledged as a leader in advancing the development of RSV vaccines and therapies, with their expertise in researching various treatment modalities offering new therapeutic options for as many patients as possible."

Sisunatovir was originally a product of ReViral. In June 2022, Pfizer completed the acquisition of ReViral and its portfolio of RSV treatment candidates. However, this acquisition did not include the development and commercialization rights of sisunatovir in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Singapore, which had been licensed to LianBio by ReViral in March 2021.

According to the terms of Pfizer's acquisition of the development and commercialization rights for sisunatovir, LianBio will receive a release of restricted cash previously paid by Pfizer under the strategic cooperation agreement reached in 2020, totaling $20 million as an upfront payment. Additionally, LianBio is eligible to receive up to $135 million in potential development and commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered sales royalties at a low single-digit percentage of net sales of the drug in the licensed territory. Pfizer will be responsible for all development and commercialization activities for sisunatovir in the licensed territory and will bear all related expenses; meanwhile, LianBio’s obligations to pay sales royalties and milestone payments for sisunatovir will be waived.

Editor: Dada Xiwa

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