Mazdutide

Eli Lilly is expanding its collaboration with Innovent Biologics through a new deal featuring a $350 million upfront payment to develop new cancer and immunology drugs. Their latest partnership marks the seventh deal between the two companies and includes regulatory and commercial milestone payments worth up to $8.5 billion, Innovent announced Sunday. The release did not specify what or how many programs would be part of the deal, but it did say that Innovent will develop programs through Phase 2 in China. After that, Lilly has an exclusive license outside Greater China to continue developing the treatments for cancer and immune diseases. “This alliance moves beyond traditional licensing to create a seamless, end-to-end innovation ecosystem that combines our agile discovery and early-stage development engine with Lilly’s extensive global scale and creates a highly efficient model for cross-border synergy,” Innovent CEO Michael Yu said in the release. It’s the latest major deal between a large pharma company and a Chinese drugmaker. At the end of January, AstraZeneca announced it made a $1.2 billion upfront deal with CSPC Pharmaceutical for long-acting obesity drugs. Lilly and Innovent’s previous partnerships include a potential low-cost checkpoint drug that was rebuffed by the FDA in 2022. More recently, Innovent won approval from Chinese regulators for Lilly’s obesity drug mazdutide . Innovent signed separate deals with Roche and Takeda last year .

Plus, news about BioCryst, Cycle Pharma, Applied Therapeutics, Contineum Therapeutics, Juncell Therapeutics, Cosette and Mayne Pharma: 📊 Innovent’s mazdutide shows early promise in adolescents : The injected GLP-1/glucagon agonist allowed body weight and BMI reductions of up to 9.9% and 11%, respectively, in patients with obesity at three months. The data came from a China-based Phase 1b trial in patients aged 12 to 17, and were statistically significantly better than the 1.2% and 1.7% respective weight and BMI reductions in the placebo group. Innovent said Thursday that an approval trial in adolescent obesity would begin “soon.” Mazdutide is sold in China as Xinermei, but only for adults, and no weight-loss drugs are specifically approved for children and adolescents in China. It is licensed to Eli Lilly for Western markets. — Elizabeth Cairns 🏔️ Everest Medicines makes a deal: Everest is paying $29 million upfront to fellow Chinese biotech Hasten Biopharmaceutical for the Greater China rights to develop the PCSK9 inhibitor lerodalcibep, which was developed by US-based company LIB Therapeutics. Hasten could get up to $30 million in development and regulatory biobucks and up to $280 million in sales milestones. — Kyle LaHucik ➕ FDA expands use of BioCryst drug to kids ages 2 and up: BioCryst said Friday that the FDA greenlit the use of an oral pellet version of its hereditary angioedema drug Orladeyo to kids aged 2 and up to prevent attacks associated with the disease. The therapy was previously approved for patients 12 and older. — Lei Lei Wu 🤝 Cycle Pharma plans to buy Applied Therapeutics: The private biotech plans to buy the Nasdaq-listed rare disease drug developer for 8 cents per share $APLT and up to 40 cents per share in a series of contingent-value rights. Applied said last month it would pursue strategic alternatives . Its drug candidate govorestat was rejected by the FDA last year. Cycle tried buying Vanda Pharmaceuticals last year but was rejected . — Kyle LaHucik 💰 Contineum Therapeutics raises $90M in stock sale: The I&I and neuroscience drug developer priced its public offering at $90 million after initially announcing plans for a $75 million offering. The stock sale comes after Contineum in November said a Phase 2 multiple sclerosis trial failed, though Wall Street analysts said the news was not catastrophic for the San Diego biotech. — Lei Lei Wu ⬆️ Another biotech eyes Hong Kong listing: Juncell Therapeutics filed for an IPO on the industry’s hottest stock exchange this year. Juncell is working on multiple cancer treatments, including a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) candidate that will be filed for approval next year. — Kyle LaHucik 🛑 Cosette and Mayne Pharma deal ends: The companies terminated their $387 million M&A deal this week after Australia’s government said last month it would block the transaction. — Kyle LaHucik Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify that the Orladeyo approval was for the pellet version of the drug.