David Ricks, chief executive officer of Eli Lilly & Co., speaks during the China Development Forum in Beijing in March this year. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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In the latest China pharmaceutical industry collaboration pact with a global drug leader, Abbisko said today it will work with U.S.-based Eli Lilly and Company to develop new drug candidates with global potential against disease targets selected by Lilly.
Abbisko, a cancer-focused biopharmaceutical company, will receive an upfront payment for an unstated amount and is eligible to receive up to $1.9 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, along with royalties, the Shanghai-headquartered company said in a statement. The two previously agreed in 2022 to collaborate on the development of a novel small-molecule therapeutic.
Founded in 2016 and listed in Hong Kong, Abbisko’s revenue last year rose by 21% to 612 million yuan, or about $90 million; net profit nearly doubled to 55.2 million. Its shares have slid by 4.5% in the past year, closing at HK$1.05 on Monday. Investors include funds associated with Morgan Stanley, Allianz and Qiming Venture Partners.
Lilly in February formed a strategic collaboration with China’s Innovent Biologics to advance novel medicines in oncology and immunology. The agreement was the seventh between Lilly and Innovent, and deepened “a longstanding and productive partnership to deliver new medicines for patients worldwide.” Innovent, which received a $350 million upfront payment from Lilly, followed that up in May with a global licensing agreement with Pfizer. Innovent Chairman and CEO Yu De-Chao has an estimated fortune worth $1 billion on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List today.
Pfizer, for its part, has also been notably active in China. Hangzhou Sciwind Biosciences and Pfizer China said in February they would team up on the commercialization of a new-generation weight management and diabetes treatment, in a deal worth up to $495 million for the Chinese company.
The agreement with Sciwind followed Pfizer’s recent completion of its Metsera acquisition in the U.S. and a global licensing agreement with China’s YaoPharma. Both companies are involved in developing weight-loss treatments, a growing global market whose leaders include Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
Sino-U.S. collaboration in the fight against cancer also makes sense to many: China and the U.S. rank no. 1 and no. 2 in annual cancer deaths.
Pfizer, which has nearly four decades of history doing business in China and boasts a presence in more than 300 cities there, upped its stake in the country in the middle of last year under an agreement with Shenyang-headquartered 3SBio aimed at cancer medicines. Under the pact announced in July, 3SBio was to receive a payment of $1.25 billion, and the American drug giant would also buy $100 million of 3SBio shares.
Other multinational drug companies hooking up with Chinese partners of late include Europe’s AstraZeneca, which this year announced plans to invest $15 billion in China through 2030 to expand medicine manufacturing and R&D. AstraZeneca also unveiled a strategic collaboration agreement with China’s CSPC Pharmaceuticals to advance the development of multiple next-generation therapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes across eight programs.
The growing collaboration between Chinese and international pharmaceutical companies underscores a trend in which China is transitioning from “a follower to a leader in global pharma,” said Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceuticals Chairman Chen Yuqing in a recent interview. Pfizer partner YaoPharma is a subsidiary of Fosun Pharma.
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