Global Briefs: Menarini, Cipla & Gilead
A roundup of news from the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies featuring Menarini, Cipla and Gilead Sciences. Highlights below.
For the latest news roundup on small and Emerging Pharma companies, see Biotech Briefs.
Partnering News
* Menarini, Gan & Lee Pharma in $843-M Obesity Drug Pact
* Cipla, Qilu in Biosimilars Pact for Merck’s Keytruda
R&D News
* Gilead Opens New Research Center
Partnering News
Menarini, Gan & Lee Pharma in $843-M Obesity Drug Pact
Menarini, a Florence, Italy-headquartered bio/pharmaceutical company, and Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, a Beijing-based bio/pharmaceutical company, have entered into an exclusive license agreement for the registration and commercialization of Gan & Lee’s, bofanglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist under development for the treatment of adults with obesity or overweight, in a deal worth up to $843 million ($72 million upfront and $771 million in milestone payments).
Menarini will be responsible for regulatory submissions and commercialization in the licensed territory in a total of 39 countries: the 27 member states of the European Union; the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and the Balkans countries.
Under the agreement, Gan & Lee is eligible to receive an upfront payment of EUR 62 million ($72 million), milestone payments totaling up to EUR 664 million ($771 million), and double-digit royalties on net sales in the licensed territory. The aggregate potential deal value is up to EUR 726 million ($843 million), excluding royalties.
Source: Menarini
Cipla, Qilu in Biosimilars Pact for Merck’s Keytruda
Invagen Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cipla Limited, a Mumbai, India-based bio/pharmaceutical company, has entered into a strategic partnership with Qilu Pharmaceutical, a Mumbai-based bio/pharmaceutical company, for the exclusive licensing and supply of QL2107, a biosimilar to Merck & Co.’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab), the company’s blockbuster immuno-oncology drug. Keytruda/Keytruda Qlex had 2025 combined sales of $31.7 billion.
As part of the agreement, Qilu will be responsible for development, regulatory registration, and supply of the product while Cipla USA Inc., Cipla’s US subsidiary, will be responsible for the commercialization of the asset by using its commercial presence in the defined territory.
Source: Cipla
R&D News
Gilead Opens New Research Center
Gilead Sciences has opened a 182,000-square-foot Research Center at its headquarters in Foster City, California, to expand capabilities in oncology, inflammation, and research data science. The center marks the latest milestone in the company’s previously announced $32-billion investment in US research, development, and manufacturing through 2030.
The Research Center, which will support approximately 325 employees, including 260 laboratory scientists, is one of three major Foster City projects in Gilead’s broader US investment plan. A Technical Development Center, expected to open in 2027, and a biologics facility broke ground in August (August 2026) and is expected to open in 2029.
Gilead employs approximately 11,000 people across the US, including more than 7,400 in California and nearly 4,700 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Source: Gilead Sciences
