(Yicai) Sept. 25 -- Shares of Hengrui Pharmaceuticals rose after the drugmaker granted a unit of Indian peer Glenmark Pharmaceuticals the exclusive global rights in some overseas markets to a class I innovative cancer drug in a deal worth as much as USD1.1 billion, the Chinese firm's second such license agreement this month and fourth this year.

Hengrui [SHA: 600276] closed up 3.1 percent to CNY72.27 (USD10.14) a share in Shanghai today, after earlier climbing by as much as 4.1 percent. 

Glenmark Specialty will receive the exclusive global rights outside of China, the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia, and the member and associated states of the Commonwealth of Independent States to Trastuzumab rezetecan, a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-directed antibody–drug conjugate that can induce apoptosis in tumor cells, Hengrui announced late yesterday.

Under the agreement, Glenmark Specialty will make an upfront payment of USD18 million for Trastuzumab rezetecan, Hengrui noted. It will also make milestone payments of up to USD1.09 billion based on the drug's registration and sales in the relevant markets.

After Trastuzumab rezetecan launches in the markets included in the deal, Glenmark Specialty will also pay royalties at an agreed-upon percentage of sales, according to Hengrui.

In May, China approved Trastuzumab rezetecan for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, while the application for the treatment of breast cancer entered the regulatory approval stage this month. In addition, combining the drug with Adebrelimab and chemotherapy for the indication of gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma received orphan drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration last month.

Glenmark Specialty’s parent Glenmark Pharmaceuticals operates 11 world-class drug manufacturing facilities worldwide, Hengrui noted, adding that Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was among the top 100 global biopharmaceutical companies by drug sales in 2023, citing the Scrip 100 ranking.

External licensing and cooperation deals for innovative drugs have become a major performance driver for Hengrui. On Sept. 5, it announced a licensing deal with US' Braveheart Bio that could bring in as much as USD1.1 billion by granting global rights outside China to an innovative heart drug, while it granted GSK the exclusive global rights to a portfolio of early-stage drug candidates in a deal worth as much as USD12 billion in July and Merck the exclusive global rights outside of China to HRS-5346, an oral small molecule Lipoprotein(a) inhibitor in phase II clinical trials, in a up to USD2 billion deal in March.

Hengrui has made 17 external licensing and cooperation deals so far, which brought it revenue of nearly CNY2 billion (USD280 million) in the first half of this year, accounting for about 13 percent of its total income.

Editor: Martin Kadiev