On January 12, 2026, Rongchang Bio announced that it had granted AbbVie exclusive rights to develop, produce and commercialize its independently developed PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody RC148 outside of Greater China.

According to the announcement, AbbVie will acquire the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize RC148 outside of Greater China (including major pharmaceutical markets such as the United States, the European Union, and Japan).

Upon the agreement taking effect, Rongchang Bio will immediately receive an upfront payment of US$650 million and will be eligible for development, regulatory, and commercialization milestone payments of up to US$4.95 billion, as well as double-digit tiered royalties based on net sales outside Greater China. The potential total value of this transaction is up to US$5.6 billion.

The announcement indicates that RC148 is a novel bispecific antibody drug targeting PD-1/VEGF, developed by Rongchang Biotechnology. Its design aims to activate anti-tumor immune responses while inhibiting tumor-driven angiogenesis. By simultaneously targeting and inhibiting the PD-1 and VEGF pathways, it is expected to enhance the anti-tumor activity of the immune system through multiple mechanisms. Currently, Rongchang Biotechnology is conducting clinical studies in China on RC148 as monotherapy and in combination therapy for patients with various advanced malignant solid tumors.

RC148 enhances anti-tumor activity through a dual-target synergistic mechanism. Its phase I/II clinical data show that the objective response rate (ORR) of monotherapy for PD-L1 positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) reached 61.9%, and the ORR of combination therapy reached up to 66.7% in previously treated patients. It has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation in China.

Currently, Rongchang Bio has two core marketed innovative drugs, covering multiple indications approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), most of which have been included in the National Reimbursement Drug List, and its commercialization is progressing steadily.

Among them, Telitacicept (trade name: Telitacicept®) is the world's first BLyS/APRIL dual-target fusion protein for autoimmune diseases, and its approved indications include systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), myasthenia gravis (MG), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), IgA nephropathy, and Sjögren's syndrome (SS).

Disitamab Vedotin (trade name: Aidixi®) is China's first independently developed HER2-targeted ADC. It has been approved for indications such as HER2-overexpressing locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer (third-line treatment), HER2-overexpressing locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (second-line treatment), and HER2-positive breast cancer with liver metastasis (second-line treatment).

In addition, Rongchang Bio's ophthalmic pipeline RC28 (VEGF/FGF dual-target fusion protein) has completed Phase III clinical trials and is expected to be submitted for market approval in 2026 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.

In the ADC field, Vidicetumab entered into a collaboration with Seagen in 2021, licensing its global rights outside of Greater China, receiving an upfront payment of US$175 million and milestone payments of up to US$2.4 billion. Sales exceeded US$100 million in 2024, and after Seagen was acquired by Pfizer, overseas clinical trials are proceeding according to Pfizer's plan.

In the autoimmune field, Telitacicept, the world's first BlyS/APRIL dual-target fusion protein, entered into a $4.23 billion licensing deal with Vor Bio in 2025. The company received up to $4.105 billion in milestone payments in the form of $125 million in cash and warrants (including a $45 million upfront payment). The license grants global development rights outside of Greater China, with a focus on expanding its indications for hematologic malignancies. Its indication for myasthenia gravis has already received Fast Track designation from the US FDA and orphan drug designation in Europe and the US.

In the field of ophthalmology, in August 2025, Rongchang Bio and Santen Pharmaceutical signed a licensing agreement, under which Rongchang Bio granted the exclusive rights to develop, produce and commercialize its independently developed VEGF/FGF dual-target ophthalmic innovative drug RC28-E injection in Greater China and seven Southeast Asian countries including South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam to Santen China, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Santen Pharmaceutical. The company retains the exclusive global rights outside the aforementioned regions.

According to the agreement, Rongchang Bio has received a non-refundable down payment of RMB 250 million, plus up to RMB 520 million in development/regulatory milestone payments, RMB 525 million in sales milestone payments, and high single-digit to double-digit sales revenue sharing based on sales in authorized regions, with a total transaction amount of up to RMB 1.295 billion.

RC28-E targets ocular neovascular diseases such as wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema. Phase II clinical data show good efficacy and safety. Currently, the marketing application for the indication of diabetic macular edema has been accepted by the China Food and Drug Administration, and the application for the indication of wet age-related macular degeneration is expected to be submitted in mid-2026.

As of early 2026, its cumulative external licensing transactions have exceeded US$12 billion, making it the first domestic biotech company to achieve cooperation worth US$4 billion in both the ADC and dual antibody fields.

These transactions not only provide the company with continuous R&D funding (the company suffered a net loss of RMB 1.468 billion in 2024 and needed to rely on external funding to support its pipeline development), but also accelerate the global clinical and commercialization process of innovative drugs through the resources of its partners.

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/bFOxuechdCCV8ehlj0Cleg