Chinese assets have outgrown a “bargain basement” label as the upfront value of licensing deals involving them has increased, Evaluate said. Daiichi Sankyo named former Novartis exec John Tsai, M.D., as its new R&D head. Astellas is committing up to $1.7 billion to partner on Vir Biotechnology's PSMA-targeting T-cell engager. And more.
The average upfront value for a licensing deal between a Western biopharma company and its Chinese counterpart reached $172 million so far this year, representing a 230% increase from the average in 2022, according to Evaluate. That trend shows that China is “not a bargain basement anymore,” Evaluate’s director of asset and portfolio strategy practice lead, Mark Lansdell, told Fierce.
2. Daiichi picks former Novartis CMO John Tsai to head up R&D
Daiichi Sankyo has named John Tsai, M.D., to replace Ken Takeshita, M.D., as the company’s new global head of R&D. Tsai was Novartis’ chief medical officer from 2018 to May 2022. The appointment came a few months after Novartis hired Daiichi’s head of global oncology clinical development, Mark Rutstein, M.D., as its own global head of oncology development.
3. 'The perfect partner': Astellas, Vir engage in $1.7B deal for masked prostate cancer bispecific
Astellas is paying $335 million in upfront and near-term payments to collaborate on Vir Biotechnology’s dual-masking T-cell engager, VIR-5500, in prostate cancer. Updated efficacy data for the PSMAxCD3 bispecific showed an 82% PSA50 response rate and 53% for PSA90 among heavily pretreated patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who received the highest evaluated doses.
4. GSK explores frontiers of siRNA with $1B deal for 2 drugs from Chinese biotech
GSK is paying $40 million upfront for two oligonucleotide therapies from China’s Frontier Biotechnologies. No details of the programs were offered except that Frontier has taken one of them into a phase 1 study in China. Back in September, the biotech reported preclinical data for two of its siRNA candidates, which both target MASP-2, as potential treatments for IgA nephropathy.
5. Novo Nordisk’s triple G candidate drives 20% weight loss in phase 2 trial in China
Novo Nordisk and its Chinese partner United Laboratories reported up to 19.7% weight loss among patients who took their GLP-1/GIP/glucagon agonist UBT251 in a China phase 2 trial. In comparison, those on placebo lost 2% of body weight. By comparison, Eli Lilly’s triple G candidate, retatrutide, posted 28.7% weight reduction after 68 weeks in a phase 3 trial.
6. Novartis plots sale of India unit while maintaining separate commercial, R&D business in country
Novartis looks to divest all of its 70.8% stake in Novartis India Limited to a group of private equity firms. The Bombay Stock Exchange-listed firm primarily markets older and off-patent drugs in immunology, neuroscience and pain. The deal is worth about $159 million, according to Reuters. The private purchase group is also offering to buy another 26% share from public investors.
7. Bristol Myers' $800M ADC hits primary survival endpoints in phase 3 breast cancer trial
Bristol Myers Squibb and SystImmune’s EGFRxHER bispecific antibody-drug conjugate izalontamab brengitecan has delivered another positive phase 3 readout. A Chinese phase 3 trial testing the drug in patients with triple-negative breast cancer following prior taxane therapy has met both progression-free survival and overall survival endpoints at an interim analysis.
8. Asahi Kasei scoops up Germany's Aicuris for $920M in R&D portfolio boost
Japanese conglomerate Asahi Kasei, through its U.S. subsidiary Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, will acquire German company Aicuris for about $920 million. The deal includes a herpes simplex therapy that has reported positive phase 3 results and a phase 2-ready antiviral for kidney transplant patients, expanding Asahi’s pipeline for immunocompromised patients.
Other News of Note:
9. Viatris to cut 10% of workforce in 3-year overhaul, discloses fire at India plant
10. Supreme Court steps in: Trump's emergency tariffs struck down
11. Amid obesity push, Pfizer strikes deal worth up to $495M to market Sciwind's approved GLP-1 in China
12. Harbour ships CTLA-4 asset to form new biotech in $1.1B biobucks deal
13. Slate aims to solve migraine injection equation with $130M, asset from Chinese biotech
14. CDMO Bora locks in 5-year, $250M production agreement with GSK
15. Protagonist plans to pocket $400M from Takeda rather than split US rusfertide profits
16. Eisai points the way to kidney cancer support with Kompass digital hub