A cure for cancer: Pfizer licenses a new drug from China for a record amount
20 May 07:01
The American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. has signed a record deal with the Chinese company 3SBio Inc. agreeing to pay $1.25 billion upfront for a license to develop and commercialize an experimental oncology drug. This was reported by the company’s press service, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
The drug is currently undergoing clinical trials for efficacy against several types of tumors: non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, and gynecological tumors. 3SBio plans to launch its first Phase III study in China in 2025.
Under the terms of the agreement, 3SBio and its subsidiaries, Shenyang Sunshine Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and 3S Guojian Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. grant Pfizer an exclusive global license to develop, manufacture and commercialize SSGJ-707 worldwide, excluding China.
According to the official announcement, Pfizer will also make a $100 million equity investment in 3SBio, a Hong Kong-listed company. If all stages of development and commercialization are successful, the Chinese company may receive an additional $4.8 billion.
Pfizer has not yet disclosed details of its clinical plans, but said that the drug will be manufactured in the United States.
Market reaction
Bloomberg writes that 3SBio shares in Hong Kong rose 52%, the highest on record, continuing to rise for the third consecutive session.
The growth has spread to other pharmaceutical companies:
- ApicHope Pharmaceutical Group Co. and Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. rose by 20% and 10%, respectively;
- The healthcare index in the Hang Seng Composite Index rose by 3.8%;
- Shares of CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. and Innovent Biologics Inc. rose to 9.6% and 8.9%.
Pfizer and bets on Chinese developments
According to Bloomberg, Pfizer, like many other global pharmaceutical companies, is actively investing in drugs of Chinese origin to expand its portfolio.
Novo Nordisk and Merck & Co. Inc. recently invested $200 million each in obesity and heart disease drugs.
This time, Pfizer is joining the fray in the immune oncology market, where Merck’s Keytruda is leading the way. The new drug from 3SBio works similarly to the development of Akeso Inc. which showed better results than Keytruda in one of the studies. Merck has also acquired a similar drug from China’s LaNova Medicines.
