Dash to Finish: Merck Hansoh, BeiGene CSPC Deal
（the article has been updated to make it concise and cohesive)
In a notable move, Merck and Jiangsu Hansoh have signed an agreement to license HS-10535, a drug for global development. Merck is committing $112 million upfront, with potential milestone payments of up to $1.9 billion based on the drug’s development, registration, and commercial success. Hansoh will also receive royalties tied to product sales.
HS-10535 is an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, a drug type in high competition, with heavyweights like Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Roche, and Viking Therapeutics all in the race. The deal is an important step for Merck, which has consistently sought to source innovation from China, reflecting growing recognition of Chinese biopharma's potential. Founded by Zhong Huijuan and her husband, Sun Piaoyang (who also founded Jiangsu Hengrui), Hansoh has expanded its strengths from oncology to metabolism.
However, industry observers have raised concerns about the deal, particularly because HS-10535 is still in its early stages, and no published data yet exists, making it difficult to evaluate the drug’s true potential. Despite this, Jefferies analysts have noted some promising features, particularly in the drug's combinability characteristics, which could prove crucial in a competitive market.
Meanwhile, BeiGene has also signed a global licensing deal with CSPC Zhongji Pharma, securing rights to the latter’s experimental cancer drug, SY2039. The drug is a MAT2A inhibitor, under development for MATA-mutation-expressing solid tumors. BeiGene will pay CSPC $150 million upfront, with additional time-based payments to follow.
SY2039 comes from AI-driven small molecule drug development, aiming to optimize protein and molecular modeling to create more selective and potent drug molecules. This AI-driven platform is one of the standout features of CSPC, a company quickly rising to prominence in Chinese pharma innovation. CSPC has already made waves this year, securing a deal with AstraZeneca in October for an LPA inhibitor and out-licensing its Nectin-4 antibody-drug conjugate to Corbus Pharma earlier in the year.
BeiGene, continuing its push for global growth, has been working hard to enrich its pipeline. Notably, it expanded its focus into antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with a deal with DualityBio in early 2024. Duality, based in Shanghai, is an ADC developer with a partnership with BioNTech, highlighting BeiGene's ongoing expansion into cutting-edge areas of oncology.
As these two deals highlight, Chinese biopharma is increasingly becoming an integral part of global innovation, and the U.S. pharmaceutical industry is keen to tap into that potential, evidenced by Merck’s significant investment and BeiGene’s global ambitions.