(Yicai) Sept. 29 -- Shares of Akeso surged after global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca agreed to provide USD2 billion in finance American oncology company Summit Therapeutics, which holds the overseas rights to the Chinese drugmaker’s cancer therapy ivonescimab.

Akeso [HK: 9926] closed up 15.5 percent at HKD106.30 (USD13.55) in Hong Kong after surging by more than 17 percent intraday.

Zhongshan-based Akeso developed ivonescimab and licensed its development and commercialization rights in major overseas markets to Summit in 2022.

AstraZeneca will invest USD2 billion in newly issued convertible preferred shares in Summit to accelerate ivonescimab’s development, Akeso said today, citing announcements by AstraZeneca and Summit. The two companies will also collaborate on trials combining ivonescimab with AstraZeneca’s antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) across tumour types.

Ivonescimab is a potential first-in-class bispecific antibody that simultaneously blocks PD-1, helping the immune system attack cancer cells, and VEGF, which tumors use to grow new blood vessels. The drug is approved in China for certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), while Summit is developing it in overseas markets including the United States, Europe and Japan.

Akeso licensed Summit ivonescimab’s development and commercialization rights in major overseas markets in December 2022 in exchange for upfront and milestone payments of up to USD5 billion, plus double-digit royalties on net sales after the drug reaches the market. At the time, it was the largest overseas licensing deal for a single innovative drug from China.

AstraZeneca Takes Stake

The latest investment values Summit shares at USD18.36 each upon conversion, 10 percent above the prior week’s five-day volume-weighted average price and a premium to its Sept. 28 close, giving AstraZeneca about 12 percent of Summit.

Michelle Xia, founder and chairwoman of Akeso, said AstraZeneca’s strategic investment in Summit is expected to provide funding and industry resources to accelerate the global clinical development of ivonescimab, including in China.

According to Summit President and Co-Chief Executive Maky Zanganeh, the AstraZeneca deal will broaden ivonescimab’s development and support new trials combining its PD-1/VEGF approach, which helps the immune system attack tumors while cutting off their blood supply, with other promising cancer treatments, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which deliver drugs directly to cancer cells.

Expanding Ivonescimab Trials

Under the clinical collaboration, Summit and AstraZeneca will test ivonescimab together with sonesitatug vedotin, an ADC designed to deliver cancer-killing drugs to cells carrying the Claudin-18.2 protein. Trials of the combination in certain gastrointestinal cancers are expected to begin soon, with AstraZeneca sponsoring the studies and both companies sharing the costs.

The two companies also signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to potentially establish a broader global clinical program combining ivonescimab with other AstraZeneca cancer medicines, including additional ADCs. Each company will retain its existing development and commercial rights to its respective medicines.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing an application to approve ivonescimab in combination with chemotherapy for NSCLC patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. The drug is also in Phase III trials for several cancers, including small-cell lung, biliary tract, bladder, triple-negative breast, head and neck, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers.

Editor: Emmi Laine