SHR-2554

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals has out-licensed global rights, excluding China, for its anti-TSLP monoclonal antibody SHR-1905 to One Bio. The deal comes with a $21.5-million upfront payment, but Jiangsu Hengrui could be entitled to over $1 billion in development and sales milestones if the drug is approved in the US, Japan and select European countries. It is also eligible for double-digit tiered royalties.Given that TSLP is an upstream mediator triggered early in the inflammatory response, Jiangsu Hengrui says SHR-1905 could be suitable for patients with severe asthma, regardless of phenotype and biomarker limitations, allowing for "greater market potential compared to other target drugs." Regulators in China greenlit SHR-1905 for clinical trials to treat asthma in 2021 and for chronic sinusitis with nasal polyps this past May. Both are currently in Phase II."This marks the second out-licensing deal by Jiangsu Hengrui this year, demonstrating its strong R&D strength and pipeline quality," Morgan Stanley analysts remarked in a note to clients. The company licensed its EZH2 inhibitor SHR-2554 to Treeline Biosciences in February as part of a deal potentially worth as much as $706 million. Jiangsu Hengrui is developing SHR-2554 in China as a treatment for peripheral T-cell lymphoma.Meanwhile, AstraZeneca and Amgen's Tezspire (tezepelumab-ekko), another TSLP-blocking drug, is approved to treat severe asthma regardless of phenotype or biomarker limitations in several markets, including the US, EU and Japan. Amgen recently reported that the drug's sales more than doubled to reach $133 million in the second quarter, benefitting from the introduction of a self-administered, pre-filled, single-use pen approved by the FDA earlier this year.