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news.Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) and Innovent Biologics have agreed to expand their alliance for the blood cancer drug TYVYT (sintilimab injection) beyond China in a deal worth up to $1bn.
Lilly acquires global licensing rights to cancer drug TYVYT from Innovent. (Credit: Momoneymoproblemz/Wikipedia.org)
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TYVYT, which was co-developed by Innovent and Lilly in China, is an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody immuno-oncology medicine. The duo began selling the drug in the country since 2019 after securing marketing approval for its use in the treatment of relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma following at least two lines of systemic chemotherapy.
The immunoglobulin G4 monoclonal antibody is said to bind to PD-1 molecules on the surface of T-cells, thereby having the ability to block the PD-1/ PD-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway and in reactivating T-cells to destroy cancer cells.
As per the terms of the expanded licensing deal, Lilly will get an exclusive license for TYVYT for regions outside of China. The pharma major intends to pursue registration of the PD-1 inhibitor in the US and other markets.
Lilly Oncology president Anne White said: “Our alliance with Innovent successfully brought TYVYT to market in China. Through this expansion of our collaboration, we hope to make TYVYT accessible to patients globally.
“We believe TYVYT could deliver significant value to people living with cancer around the world and we intend to continue to study its potential across tumor types.”
Innovent Biologics will get an upfront payment of $200m from Lilly besides being eligible to earn up to $825m in potential development and commercial milestones, and also tiered double-digit royalties on net sales.
The two firms will also retain the right to study the anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody immuno-oncology drug in combination with other medicines as part of their own clinical programmes.
The partners are also assessing TYVYT as a potential treatment for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and various other forms of cancer.
Innovent Biologics founder, chairman and CEO Michael Yu said: “We are thrilled to expand on our successful China TYVYT collaboration with Lilly to now include markets outside of China. This agreement also marks the first solid step in getting Innovent’s innovative portfolio into the global market.
“We are confident that pairing Lilly’s global commercial expertise with TYVYT’s clinical profile will further accelerate our mission, benefitting patients globally.”
The closing of the deal is subject to meeting of customary closing conditions, which include clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.