Two Chinese Innovative Drugs Secure Global Licensing Deals on the Same Day, Totaling $1.76 Billion

　　【Pharmaceutical Network Industry DynamicsBy 2025, Chinese pharmaceutical companies are highly active in out-licensing (License-out). As of October 2025, the total amount of out-licensing deals for innovative drugs from China has reached tens of billions of US dollars. Approaching the end of the year, the trend of Chinese innovative drugs going global continues to show a "multi-point blossoming with key breakthroughs" pattern. On December 22, Quanxin Biologics and Simcere separately announced that they would license their core innovative drugs to international partners, with a combined total deal value as high as 1.76 billion US dollars.
 

Among the developments, Quanxin Biotech announced that it has entered into a licensing and collaboration agreement with LE2025 Therapeutics AG, a subsidiary of Windward Bio Group AG. The agreement grants LE2025 Therapeutics AG exclusive rights to develop and commercialize QX027N globally (excluding mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao). According to the terms, Quanxin Biotech will receive payments of up to 700 million USD, including an upfront payment, equity in Windward Bio, development and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties.
 

It is reported that QX027N is a long-acting anti-TSLP x IL-13 bispecific antibody independently developed by the company. In November 2025, it received clinical trial implied permission from the Center for Drug Evaluation of the National Medical Products Administration (Acceptance Nos.: CXSL2500757, CXSL2500758) and is intended for the treatment of asthma and atopic dermatitis. On December 12, Quanxin Biologics successfully initiated the Phase I clinical trial of QX027N in China and completed the enrollment of the first subject.
 

Notably, Quanxin Biotech has reached licensing partnerships for its self-developed products multiple times in recent years. On April 24, 2025, Quanxin Biotech announced a licensing agreement exceeding US$550 million with Caldera Therapeutics for the preclinical-stage long-acting autoimmune bispecific antibody QX030N, granting Caldera exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize QX030N. In April 2024, Quanxin Biotech entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Hansoh (Shanghai) Health Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hansoh Pharma, for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of QX004N in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao.
 

Simcere Issues Announcement on the Same Day: Its Subsidiary Jiangsu Zaiming Has Signed an Exclusive Licensing Agreement with Ipsen Pharma SAS (Ipsen). According to the Terms of the Agreement, Ipsen Will Obtain Global Exclusive Rights Outside of Greater China for the Development, Manufacturing, and Commercialization of SIM0613, an Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) Targeting LRRC15 Developed by Jiangsu Zaiming. Under the Terms of the Agreement, Simcere Is Entitled to Receive Payments of Up to $1.06 Billion, Including a $45 Million Upfront Payment, as Well as Milestone Payments Related to R&D, Regulatory, and Commercialization Achievements, Plus Tiered Royalties on Sales.
 

Public information shows that SIM0613 is a novel ADC targeting leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 15 (LRRC15). Specially designed, this drug can deeply penetrate tumors and tumor-associated fibroblasts, demonstrating significant tumor regression effects in various preclinical in vivo models.
 

It is reported that this year, Simcere has completed multiple out-licensing deals, all in collaboration with overseas biotech companies or multinational corporations. For instance, on January 13, Simcere Zaiming, a subsidiary of Simcere, announced that it had reached a development and licensing option agreement with AbbVie for SIM0500, a multiple myeloma (MM) candidate drug currently in Phase I clinical trials in both China and the United States. According to the terms of the agreement, Simcere Zaiming will receive an upfront payment from AbbVie, as well as potential option exercise fees and milestone payments totaling up to $1.055 billion.
 

On June 16, Simcere Zaiming and the U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company NextCure, Inc. reached a collaboration to jointly develop a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting CDH6, SIM0505, for the treatment of solid tumors. According to the agreement, Simcere Zaiming is entitled to receive up to $745 million in payments related to the potential development phase of the SIM0505 project.
 

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