The Chinese biotechs are broadening their collaboration. Hansoh Pharma is licensing Biotheus’ anti-EGFR/cMet bispecific antibody to develop antibody-drug conjugates.
Pictured: 3D rendering of antibody-drug conjugate/iStock, Love Employee
China-based biotechs Biotheus, a clinical-stage company focused on oncology and inflammatory disease, and Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group are expanding their partnership into antibody-drug conjugates, which could see Biotheus receive RMB 5 billion ($694.8 million) in upfront and potential payments.
Under the deal, Biotheus is granting Hansoh a license to use its anti-EGFR/cMet biospecific antibody PM1080/HS-20117 to develop antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) products. PM1080/HS-20117 is a bispecific antibody that is designed to inhibit the growth and survival of tumors by targeting the EGFR and cMET antigens. According to Biotheus, the candidate is currently in Phase I trials.
The terms of the deal will allow Hansoh to nab the global rights to the product with the right to sublicense it as well. Apart from the potential $694.8 million, Biotheus is eligible to receive tiered royalties on global net sales from Hansoh.
“This is the second collaboration between Hansoh and Biotheus. We appreciate Hansoh’s confidence in the potential of PM1080,” Biotheus CEO Xiaolin Liu said in a statement. “Bispecific ADCs have a potential advantage for better tumor enrichment, overall efficacy and safety. Hansoh develops an outstanding ADC platform, and this collaboration will facilitate the synergy between Hansoh’s ADC expertise and Biotheus’ antibody capabilities.”
The partnership between Biotheus and Hansoh started in 2022, with the original collaboration agreement focused only on the mainland China, Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong markets. Biotheus originally received CNY 50 million ($6.9 million) in a deal potentially worth up to CNY 1.4 billion ($194.5 million).
“This collaboration combines Hansoh’s proprietary ADC platform technology with Biotheus’ novel bispecific antibody. We hope this new approach will further increase the clinical benefit in patients with NSCLC or other solid tumors,” Eliza Sun, executive director of the board at Hansoh, said in a statement. “We are confident in our ability to offer transformative treatment options to cancer patients in China and worldwide.”
Hansoh has been active in the deal space, especially for ADC technology. In December 2023, it inked a deal with GSK in which the UK-based pharma secured the global rights to Hansoh’s ADC HS-20093 for $185 million upfront and over $1.5 billion in potential milestone payments. Hansoh will hang on to the right for the drug in mainland China, Macau, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Last year, Biotheus also started working with BioNTech to develop candidates to target solid tumors.
Tyler Patchen is a staff writer at BioSpace. You can reach him at tyler.patchen@biospace.com. Follow him on LinkedIn.
