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China’s biotech sector comes of age with big licensing deals

Reuters . Hong Kong
17 Sep 2021 00:00:00 | Update: 17 Sep 2021 00:29:03
China’s biotech sector comes of age with big licensing deals
People walk past a booth of biotech company Beigene at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing– Reuters Photo

If investors in China’s biotech industry needed one more sign that the sector is coming of age, then a major licensing deal RemeGen Co Ltd struck last month with Seattle-based Seagen Inc fits the bill.

The agreement to co-develop cancer treatments using a RemeGen antibody drug conjugate is regarded as one of the biggest of its kind between a Chinese biotech and a Western firm. It provides for up to $2.4 billion in milestone payments, in addition to $200 million upfront as well as royalties if approved.

It is also at least the fifth out-licensing deal potentially worth more than $1 billion clinched by a Chinese biotech. Nearly all were signed in the past year, underscoring China’s still small but growing role in developing innovative cancer drugs that will be used worldwide.

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