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Deals and Financings

• Beijing BeiGene (BGNE) out-licensed ex-China rights for its TIGIT inhibitor to Novartis (NVS) in a multi-faceted $2.8 billion deal (see story). As part of the agreement, BeiGene will have rights to market five Novartis oncology drugs in China outside of China's largest cities. BeiGene will receive a $300 million upfront payment, a $600-$700 million option payment within two years, $745 million in regulatory milestones, and $1.15 billion in sales milestones. It will also receive royalties on sales. In January, Novartis in-licensed BeiGene's PD-1 candidate in a similar deal. Currently, BeiGene is testing the TIGIT inhibitor paired with the PD-1 in several global trials for NSCLC and other cancers.  
• Shanghai Ji Xing Pharma in-licensed China rights to a heart failure treatment from Cytokinetics (CYTK) of South San Francisco in a $400 million pact (see story). Ji Xing will own Greater China rights for omecamtiv mecarbil to treat heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Cytokinetics will receive $70 million, consisting of $50 million from Ji Xing in upfront and near-term payments and a $20 million investment from RTW Investments, Ji Xing's backer. Cytokinetics will also be eligible for up to $330 million in milestone payments plus royalties.  
• Shanghai Nuance Pharma acquired China rights to AeroFact™, an innovative non-invasive therapy for respiratory distress syndrome developed by Ireland's Aerogen, in a $213 million deal (see story). AeroFact uses Aerogen's vibrating mesh nebulizer aerosolization technology to deliver a pulmonary surfactant drug. RDS, a life-threatening condition for preterm infants, causes long-term lung health issues in survivors. Aerogen Pharma will receive a $20 million upfront payment and $10 million equity in Nuance, plus $182.5 million in milestone payments.  
• ArriVent Biopharma of Philadelphia formed a $100 million collaboration with Aarvik, a Bay Area company, to develop a novel cancer therapeutic for global markets (see story). Aarvik will discover a candidate by using its modular platform that combines multiple target mechanisms. ArriVent will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization. In June 2021, ArriVent raised $150 million from China investors to bring China-developed drugs to western markets. In this agreement, it is partnering to develop a US-discovered drug for global markets.  
• Changchun GeneScience Pharma acquired China rights from Luye Pharma (2186.HK) to commercialize two transdermal patch products for Alzheimer's in an agreement worth up to $43 million (see story). The patch delivers a cholinesterase inhibitor that treats symptoms of Alzheimer's but does not inhibit progression of the disease. In 2016, Luye acquired the transdermal patch business of Zurich's Acino, a specialist in novel drug delivery systems, for $269 million. GeneSci will have perpetual commercialization rights to single-day and multiple day rivastigmine patches.  
• TandemAI, a Suzhou AI-based drug discovery company, raised $25 million in Seed and pre-Series A financing (see story). The company integrates its proprietary AI-driven, high-performance computation platform with large-scale, in-house wet lab operations to deliver a complete drug discovery program. The company bases its work on advanced AI and the latest discoveries in biophysics, TandemAI aims to increase the speed of drug discovery and deliver cost-effective candidates. The round was led by OrbiMed and Chengwei Capital.  

Company News 

• BeiGene launched the BeiGene Bioisland Innovation Center (BIC) in Guangzhou with the goal of enabling scientists and entrepreneurs to develop novel, cutting-edge medical innovations (see story). The newcos will have potential access to BeiGene support over the complete development process. The incubator will house state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and comprehensive research capabilities. The BIC center, which will have an area of 39,948 square meters in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, will eventually be home to more than 30 startup companies.  

Trials and Approvals 

• Suzhou CStone Pharma (2616.HK) reported its anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody was approved for first-line use in non-small cell lung cancer (see story). Cejemly® (sugemalimab) was approved in combination with chemotherapy for treatment-naïve metastatic NSCLC patients with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations and in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin as a first-line treatment for metastatic squamous NSCLC. CStone pointed out that Cejemly is the first PD-L1 approved as a first-line treatment of metastatic non-squamous and squamous NSCLC patients worldwide.