Pfizer Inc. and Innovent Biologics, Inc. (01801.HK) on May 28th announced that the companies have entered into a strategic global licensing and collaboration agreement for the research and development of 12 promising new breakthrough early-stage and de novo cancer medicines. The partnership includes licensing, co-development, and co-commercialisation opportunities across a diverse portfolio of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with novel differentiated payloads and multi-specific antibodies with differentiated immune-engaging features and unique designs.
The strategic collaboration brings together Pfizer’s deep scientific expertise, global clinical development capabilities, regulatory leadership and commercial scale with Innovent’s scientific discovery and clinical capabilities in oncology innovation, which are highly complementary to each company’s core areas of interest.
The agreement spans a portfolio of 12 programs comprising eight Innovent-originated early-stage programs and four Pfizer-proposed discovery programs. The companies will co-develop and share costs for select programs as they advance these programs through clinical development.
“At Pfizer, everything we do starts with patients and the urgency to change what’s possible for people living with cancer,” said Jeff Legos, Chief Oncology Officer, Pfizer. “This collaboration brings together two highly complementary engines of innovation with a shared ambition to move faster, go further and deliver truly transformative medicines to patients who are waiting. By combining Innovent’s discovery and early clinical development with Pfizer’s global research and development and commercialisation capabilities, we have an opportunity not only to strengthen our pipeline, but to accelerate the delivery of breakthroughs that can redefine standards of care and make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.”
“This agreement brings together the best-in-industry expertise of Pfizer and Innovent to advance novel cancer medicines to patients at a global scale,” said Dr Hui Zhou, Chief R&D Officer (Oncology Pipeline) of Innovent. “By leveraging both companies’ complementary resources, we can develop our early-stage oncology pipeline with greater speed and impact to help bring innovative therapies to patients more efficiently worldwide. Furthermore, co-developing and co-commercialising key projects in the U.S. and Europe expands Innovent’s global reach. At Innovent, we are laying the foundation for a truly global oncology platform that can deliver meaningful and lasting benefits for patients around the world.”
According to the agreement, Innovent will conduct development of these programs through Phase 1, powered by its proprietary discovery engine and robust early clinical capabilities, after which Pfizer will lead future global development. The agreement also sets out the following licensing and commercialisation structure:
- Pfizer will receive an exclusive global license for four programs and will be responsible for the global development costs.
- Pfizer will receive an exclusive license outside Greater China for four programs, and will be responsible for the majority of the development costs; and
- Pfizer and Innovent will co-develop four programs globally and share the development costs. The companies will co-commercialise in the United States and Europe and share the profits. Innovent will retain Greater China rights to these programs.
Under the financial terms of the agreement, Innovent will receive a USD 650 million upfront payment and is eligible for up to USD 9.85 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. Additionally, Innovent will receive up to double-digit royalties on sales of each licensed product if approved. For the ‘co-developed, co-commercialised’ programs, the two companies will share the profits in the U.S. and Europe.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to the fulfilment of required regulatory approvals.
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