After the Chinese pharmaceutical company Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Company announced that it had agreed to license the global rights of its HRS-9821 drug and 11 other programs to GlaxoSmithKline Intellectual Property (GSK), its shares surged 10 percent to reach a 4-year high of 61-yuan, or $ 9.62, on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE).
The initiatives were evaluated for their potential best-in-class or first-in-class profiles and were chosen to supplement GSK's comprehensive portfolio in oncology, immunology & inflammation (RI&I), and respiratory medicine.
According to GSK, the agreements include an exclusive global license (apart from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) for HRS-9821, a potential best-in-class PDE3/4 inhibitor that is currently undergoing clinical development for the treatment of COPD as an adjuvant maintenance treatment, independent of background therapy.
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The British pharmaceutical giant went on to say that HRS-9821 supports its goal of treating patients with the broadest range of COPD, including those who, due to their disease profile, are unlikely to get inhaled corticosteroids or biologics or who continue to experience dyspnea (shortness of breath).
In addition to HRS-9821, the agreements include a groundbreaking, extensive partnership to create up to 11 more projects, each with its own budget.
Up until Phase I trials are finished, including those with patients from outside of China, Hengrui Pharma will be in charge of developing these programs.
At the conclusion of Phase I or earlier, at its discretion, GSK will have the only right to develop and market each program globally (with the exception of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). It will also have the authority to substitute programs.
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GSK has committed to paying $500 million in upfront payments for all of the agreements, including the PDE3/4 program license. If all programs are optioned and all milestones are reached, Hengrui Pharma may receive future success-based development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments totaling over $12 billion.
Hengrui Pharma will also be entitled for tiered royalties on the net sales of its products worldwide (with the exception of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China). Customary requirements, such as regulatory clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act in the US, still apply to the license to HRS-9821.
Hengrui Pharma is a multinational pharmaceutical firm that was founded in 1970 and is committed to the research, development, and marketing of premium medications to meet unmet clinical needs. Hengrui's therapeutic focus encompasses oncology, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, immunological and respiratory disorders, and neuroscience. The company has a global R&D network of 14 centers and more than 5,500 professionals. In China, Hengrui has so far brought four other cutting-edge medications and 23 unique molecular entity medications to market.