By Jason Chau
Innovent Biologics is teaming up with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical to work on cancer therapies, a deal that could net the Chinese drugmaker up to US$11.4 billion.
The tie-up is the latest in a wave of collaborations between Chinese firms and international pharma majors looking to expand their global reach and tap promising drug pipelines developing in China.
Under the terms of the deal with Takeda, Innovent will receive US$1.2 billion up front and is eligible for milestone payments of up to US$10.2 billion, the Suzhou-based company said in an exchange filing.
Takeda will also make an US$100 million equity investment in Innovent as part of the partnership covering two of the Chinese firm's promising oncology pipeline assets.
The Japanese pharma giant will co-develop one of Innovent's late-stage investigational drugs, IBI363, initially for non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer. The firms will jointly bring the drug to market in the U.S., with Innovent granting Takeda exclusive commercialization rights outside Greater China and the U.S.
Takeda will also get exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize another of Innovent's oncology assets, IBI343, outside of Greater China. The Osaka-based firm plans to expand the drug into first-line gastric and pancreatic cancer settings, the filing showed.
The two late-stage programs have the potential to be transformative for Takeda's oncology portfolio, Teresa Bitetti, president of Takeda's global oncology business unit, said in a press release.
The partnership also includes an option for an early-stage anti-tumor treatment program.
The collaboration is a "crucial step" in Innovent's bid to expand its global footprint, said Dr. Hui Zhou, Innovent's chief R&D officer for oncology pipeline.
Shares of Innovent jumped on the news, rising as much as 10% in Hong Kong before reversing course on likely profit taking, and amid broader risk-off sentiment. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng was also trading lower, as was the gauge for biotech stocks.
Chinese pharma firms are increasingly drawing investor interest, with appetite for Chinese biotech names pushing the Hang Seng Biotech Index up nearly 90% so far this year. A flurry of partnerships with major Western drugmakers have been struck too, despite global trade tensions.
British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in June entered into a collaboration with China's CSPC Pharmaceutical valued at up to $5.33 billion. Industry giants Pfizer and Eli Lilly have also forged similar partnerships with Chinese firms recently.
By 2040, drugs originating in China could account for 35% of approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, up from only 5% now, according to Morgan Stanley Research.
"China biotech is no longer merely a regional story," Morgan Stanley analyst Jack Lin said.
Write to Jason Chau at jason.chau@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 22, 2025 00:33 ET (04:33 GMT)
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