Shares of Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Company, a Chinese pharmaceutical firm, jumped 10% to hit a 4-year high of 61-yuan, equivalent to USD 9.62 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), after the 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).
GSK will then have the option to further develop and commercialize each program globally, excluding the China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan markets. The British group can also choose to exercise the option earlier, the statement added.
GSK has agreed to pay $500 million in up-front fees across the agreements. Hengrui Pharma could net up to $12 billion, plus royalties tied to global net sales, if all 12 programs achieve development, regulatory and commercial goals.
Frank Jiang, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Hengrui Pharma, said: “This strategic collaboration with GSK marks yet another significant milestone in Hengrui’s globalisation journey and our mission to innovate and deliver higher-quality, cutting-edge therapies for patients worldwide. GSK brings additional R&D expertise, a robust global clinical network, and broad regulatory capabilities that will accelerate our PDE3/4 inhibitor as well as an array of other innovative therapy programs to overseas markets, potentially delivering breakthrough treatments to patients globally.”
About Hengrui Pharma
Founded in 1970, Hengrui Pharma is a global pharmaceutical company dedicated to research, development, and commercialization of high-quality medicines to address unmet clinical needs.
With a global R&D network of 14 centers and over 5,500 professionals, Hengrui’s therapeutic focus includes oncology, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, immunological and respiratory disorders, and neuroscience.
To date, Hengrui has commercialized 23 new molecular entity drugs and 4 other innovative drugs in China.
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