Alveltamig

AbbVie is deepening its push into immuno-oncology with a deal that could reach $1.2 billion, securing global rights outside China to ZG006 (alveltamig), a trispecific T-cell engager developed by China's Suzhou Zelgen Biopharmaceuticals.The financial package includes $100 million upfront for Zelgen, as well as up to $60 million in near-term clinical and option-related payments. If AbbVie exercises its license option and the drug advances successfully, Zelgen stands to collect up to $1.075 billion more in development, regulatory and sales milestones, along with tiered royalties ranging from the high single digits to the mid-double digits on ex-China sales. Zelgen retains full development and commercialisation rights in China.ZG006 is engineered to target DLL3, a protein highly expressed on small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and other neuroendocrine tumours, while simultaneously recruiting T cells to attack malignant cells.The programme is now advancing through several trials, including a new Phase III study in relapsed SCLC comparing ZG006 with investigator-selected chemotherapy; a Phase I first-line combination study with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in extensive-stage SCLC that began in December, and a Phase II study in neuroendocrine prostate cancer that began over the summer.AbbVie padded its oncology pipeline in 2025 with a pair of deals centred on trispecific antibodies. In July, the company inked a $1.9-billion licensing deal for ISB 2001 (now also known as ABBV-2001), a BCMA/CD38/CD3 trispecific for multiple myeloma developed by IGI Therapeutics.Earlier in the year, it also partnered with Simcere Zaiming on SIM0500, another trispecific myeloma candidate now in Phase I testing in both the US and China.