On the morning of July 28, CSI Smart Finance Hengrui Pharmaceutical (600276) announced that the company had reached an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to grant GSK the exclusive global rights of the HRS-9821 project outside Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as the exclusive global options for up to 11 projects.

HRS-9821 is a potential best in class PDE3/4 inhibitor currently in clinical development, which can be used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as an adjuvant maintenance therapy without considering previous treatment plans. The drug has shown potent PDE3 and PDE4 inhibitory effects in early clinical and preclinical studies, enhancing bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory effects, and providing opportunities for the development of convenient dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations.

The other 11 projects involve innovative drugs in multiple therapeutic fields such as cancer, respiratory, autoimmune, and inflammation, all of which are currently in the non clinical research stage. Hengrui Pharmaceutical will lead the research and development of these projects, and will complete the Phase I clinical trials including overseas subject data at the latest.

According to the agreement, Hengrui Pharmaceutical will receive a down payment of 500 million US dollars. If all projects are exercised and milestones are achieved, Hengrui Pharmaceutical is eligible to receive a cumulative milestone payment of approximately $12 billion and enjoy corresponding sales gradient sharing. GSK may exercise its global development and commercialization options for each project after completing Phase I clinical trials with overseas data. The HRS-9821 authorization will take effect after obtaining anti-monopoly approval.

GSK is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in London, UK, listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (stock code GSK).

The announcement states that the signing of this agreement will help expand the overseas market for HRS-9821 and multiple innovative products in the fields of cancer, respiratory, immunotherapy, and inflammation treatment, providing high-quality treatment options for patients worldwide, and further enhancing the company's innovative brand and overseas performance. On the basis of endogenous development, the company strengthens international cooperation to achieve rapid transformation of research and development results, covers overseas markets with leading international partners, accelerates integration into the global drug innovation network, maximizes product value, and enables the company to innovate products to serve patients worldwide.

Author: Sun Ping Source: China Securities Journal · China Securities Network