Axatilimab-csfr

The Imdelltra transaction with BeOne Medicines is consistent with Royalty Pharma’s business model of acquiring royalties on commercially promising drugs. BeOne Medicines is monetizing its stake in Amgen’s first-in-class lung cancer drug Imdelltra for up to $950 million.Royalty Pharma will pay BeOne $885 million upfront for certain royalty payments from Amgen tied to ex-China sales of its DLL3 T-cell engager Imdelltra.Within the next 12 months, BeOne has an option to sell additional royalty rights to Royalty for up to $65 million.The royalties represent “a significant portion” of “tiered mid-single digit” payments based on Imdelltra’s annual sales above $1.5 billion, BeOne said in an Aug. 25 securities filing. Royalty, in a separate release, said the royalty level is about 7%.BeOne, formerly known as BeiGene, gained the Imdelltra rights through a broad-ranging strategic collaboration with Amgen in 2019. That deal includes commercialization of Amgen’s oncology products in China, and a global clinical development alliance.Imdelltra became the first FDA-approved DLL3 agent in May of 2024 with an accelerated approval in previously treated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) following platinum-based chemotherapy.A full approval looks within reach after the phase 3 DeLLphi-304 trial recently linked the bispecific antibody to a 40% reduction in the risk of death in SCLC patients who have tried one line of platinum-based chemo. Separately, with the phase 3 DeLLphi-305 and DeLLphi-306 studies, Amgen aims to move Imdelltra into first-line treatment. In China, BeOne is running the DeLLphi-307 trial in the hopes of getting Imdelltra approved in the country in third-line SCLC.As the first DLL3-targeting agent to reach the market, Imdelltra has shown great market potential. Its sales reached $215 million in the first half of 2025, and its revenue in the second quarter, at $134 million, came 41% above analysts’ expectations.As SCLC affects about 360,000 patients worldwide each year, analysts’ consensus currently pegs the drug could reach $2.8 billion in sales by 2035, according to Royalty.However, Imdelltra’s profile, including its side effects, still leaves room for improvement. And the promise of the DLL3 target, as validated by Imdelltra, has attracted several large companies.At the beginning of 2025, Roche and Innovent Biologics unveiled a potential $1 billion deal that grants the Swiss pharma the Chinese biotech’s DLL3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate IBI3009. Last year, Merck & Co. bought Harpoon Therapeutics, with a lead candidate being a rival DLL3 T-cell engager.Companies like Boehringer Ingelheim and a partnership between Ideaya Biosciences and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals are among players eyeing the DLL3 field.For BeOne, the royalty deal gives the newly Switzerland-domiciled company immediate cash to advance its internal pipeline while reducing risks from potential Imdelltra competition. “By monetizing a significant portion of our royalty interest in Imdelltra, we are able to strengthen our balance sheet and unlock substantial value,” BeOne CEO John V. Oyler said in a statement, adding that the deal “provides us with increased operational and strategic flexibility.” For Royalty, the transaction is consistent with the New York company’s business model of acquiring royalties on commercially promising drugs. Some of the drugs Royalty has tapped include Syndax Pharmaceuticals’ graft-versus-host disease drug Niktimvo, Revolution Medicines’ phase 3 RAS candidate daraxonrasib and Biogen’s phase 3 lupus asset litifilimab.“Imdelltra is expected to further enhance Royalty Pharma’s long-term growth and portfolio diversification, and we remain incredibly excited given our robust transaction pipeline,” the company’s CEO, Pablo Legorreta, said in a statement.“We view this deal as positive given it highlights Royalty’s preference for commercial/late-stage high-impact compounds with large [total addressable market size] alongside the company’s commitment to business development,” Citi analysts said in a Monday note.