Pfizer Inc and Innovent Biologics have entered into a strategic global licensing and collaboration agreement for the research and development of 12 promising new breakthrough early-stage and de novo cancer medicines. The partnership includes licensing, co-development, and co-commercialisation opportunities across a diverse portfolio of Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) with novel differentiated payloads and multi-specific antibodies with differentiated immune-engaging features and unique designs.

The strategic collaboration brings together Pfizer’s deep scientific expertise, global clinical development capabilities, regulatory leadership and commercial scale with Innovent’s scientific discovery and clinical capabilities in oncology innovation, which are highly complementary to each company’s core areas of interest.

The agreement spans a portfolio of 12 programs comprising 8 Innovent-originated early-stage programs and 4 Pfizer-proposed discovery programs. The companies will co-develop and share costs for select programs as they advance these programs through clinical development.

Jeff Legos, Chief Oncology Officer, Pfizer, said, “At Pfizer, everything we do starts with patients and the urgency to change what’s possible for people living with cancer. This collaboration brings together 2 highly complementary engines of innovation with a shared ambition to move faster, go further and deliver truly transformative medicines to patients who are waiting. By combining Innovent’s discovery and early clinical development with Pfizer’s global research and development and commercialisation capabilities, we have an opportunity not only to strengthen our pipeline, but to accelerate the delivery of breakthroughs that can redefine standards of care and make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.”

Dr. Hui Zhou, Chief R&D Officer (Oncology Pipeline), Innovent, said, “This agreement brings together best-in-industry expertise of Pfizer and Innovent to advance novel cancer medicines to patients at a global scale. By leveraging both companies' complementary resources, we can develop our early-stage oncology pipeline with greater speed and impact to help bring innovative therapies to patients more efficiently worldwide. Furthermore, co-developing and co-commercialising key projects in the US and Europe expands Innovent’s global reach. At Innovent, we are laying the foundation for a truly global oncology platform that can deliver meaningful and lasting benefits for patients around the world.”

According to the agreement, Innovent will lead the development of the programs through phase 1, leveraging its proprietary discovery platform and strong early-stage clinical development capabilities.

Following phase 1, Pfizer will assume responsibility for future global development activities. Under the collaboration framework, Pfizer will receive exclusive global rights to 4 programs and will bear all associated global development costs. For another 4 programs, the company will obtain exclusive licensing rights outside Greater China and will fund the majority of development expenses. The remaining 4 programs will be co-developed globally by Pfizer and Innovent, with both companies sharing development responsibilities and costs as the programs advance through clinical development.

Under the financial terms of the agreement, Innovent will receive a USD 650 million upfront payment and is eligible for up to USD 9.85 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. Additionally, Innovent will receive up to double-digit royalties on sales of each licensed product if approved. For the ‘co-developed, co-commercialised’ programs, the two companies will share the profits in the US and Europe.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter subject to fulfillment of required regulatory approvals.