Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Hengrui Pharma, a Shanghai-based bio/pharmaceutical company, have entered into global strategic collaboration and license agreements to advance a portfolio of 13 early-stage programs in oncology, hematology, and immunology, in a deal worth up to $15.2 billion ($600 million upfront and $14.6 billion in milestone payments). 

The agreements include four oncology/hematology assets from Hengrui, four immunology assets from BMS, and five innovative assets to be jointly discovered and developed by both companies, which will apply Hengrui’s discovery engine and platform technologies across several modalities. Hengrui has the option to co-develop select assets and the potential to conduct certain commercialization activities globally with BMS. 

Under the collaboration, BMS obtains exclusive worldwide rights to the Hengrui‑originated assets outside the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau while Hengrui obtains exclusive rights to the BMS‑originated assets within these areas, with BMS retaining rights for the rest of the world. Hengrui will be fully responsible for early clinical development to accelerate clinical proof of concept for these programs. 

Under the agreement, BMS will pay Hengrui up to $950 million, including a $600 million upfront payment, a $175 million first anniversary payment, and a second contingent anniversary payment of $175 million in 2028. The potential total value of the agreement is up to approximately $15.2 billion, including the exercise of available options for the joint discovery programs and the achievement of applicable development, regulatory, and commercial milestones for all programs. In addition, Hengrui is eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales of products commercialized outside the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau. 

Source: Bristol Myers Squibb