Harbour BioMed and AstraZeneca Announce Global Licensing Agreement for Claudin18.2xCD3 Bispecific Antibody HBM7022, Driving Share Surge of Nearly 60%

(Cai Li She (Shanghai, Editor Hu Jia Rong) Report) Harbour BioMed (01242.HK) has reached a collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop and commercialize HBM7022, a bispecific antibody targeting tumor antigens, drawing significant market attention.

Harbour BioMed's stock price surged by 60% at one point during the morning session, but later the increase narrowed. As of press time, it was up by 27.84%, trading at HK$4.73.

According to the announcement by Harbour BioMed, the company has entered into an out-licensing agreement with AstraZeneca. The company is highly satisfied with the collaboration with a top global pharmaceutical enterprise, considering it a significant milestone in business development.

According to the agreement, Harbour BioMed will first receive a prepayment of 25 million US dollars from AstraZeneca, and can receive up to 325 million US dollars after achieving development, regulatory and commercial milestones. The company is also entitled to receive tiered royalties.

Harbour BioMed is a company focused on the research and development of immunology and oncology antibodies; AstraZeneca is a global multinational pharmaceutical company and was recognized as one of the top 15 pharmaceutical companies globally by PharmExec in 2021.

Following the licensing agreement, AstraZeneca will obtain the global exclusive license for the research, development, registration, manufacturing, and commercialization of HBM7022, and will be fully responsible for all costs and activities related to its further development and commercialization.

The announcement mentioned that HBM7022 is currently in the preclinical stage. It is a bispecific antibody targeting tumor-associated antigen (Claudin18.2) and CD3, which strongly activates T cells and kills tumor cells by binding to tumor cells and T cells.

Harbour BioMed stated that HBM7022 adopts a structure with bivalent high-affinity anti-Claudin18.2 and monovalent low-affinity anti-CD3, which ensures high killing activity while reducing the risk of cytokine storms. Preclinical studies have shown that this antibody not only has a significant killing effect on various Claudin18.2-positive gastric cancers but also works well against pancreatic cancer and Claudin18.2-mutated gastric cancer.