Global Briefs: Stada, Sanofi, Novartis, Gilead & More
A roundup of news from the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies featuring Stada, Novartis, Gilead, Eli Lilly and Company, Sanofi, and GSK. Highlights below.
For the latest news roundup on small and Emerging Pharma companies, see Biotech Briefs.
Mfg News
* Stada To Invest $101 M in Saudi Arabia Mfg Facility
Partnering News
* Novartis, UNP in $1.8-Bn Peptide Drug Pact
* Gilead, Chinhao Pharmaceuticals in $1.53-Bn Oncology Drug Pact
* Lilly, CSL in $100-M mAb Pact
* GSK, Jackson Labs in Neuroscience Research Pact
Appointments
* Sanofi Names New Specialty Care Head in Another Leadership Change
Mfg News
Stada To Invest $101 M in Saudi Arabia Mfg Facility
Stada, a specialty pharma and generic-drug company, has announced an investment of more than EUR 85 million ($101 milion) in a drug-product manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia. The facility will be the company’s first manufacturing facility in the Middle East.
On a 23,250 square meter site, the new facility will provide annual production capacity of more than 300 million units, equivalent to 10-13 million packs, at 85% utilization. It will integrate a scalable production area engineered for manufacturing multi-technology solid dosages with a manual secondary packaging center. Logistics will be supported by a 3,300+ pallet warehouse, featuring two dedicated cold rooms. Once fully operational by 2030, it will join Stada’s current network of 16 manufacturing sites across 11 countries in Europe and Asia.
Source: Stada
Partnering News
Novartis, UNP in $1.8 Bn Peptide Drug Pact
Novartis and Unnatural Products (UNP), a bio/pharmaceutical company developing orally delivered macrocyclic peptides, have entered a research collaboration and licensing agreement on an undisclosed program, in a deal worth up to $1.8 billion ($100 million upfront and $1.7 billion in milestone payments).
The collaboration brings together UNP’s AI-enhanced macrocycle platform and Novartis’ global development and commercialization capabilities to generate therapeutics with potential applications in the cardiovascular disease area. Novartis will assume responsibility for investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies and all subsequent clinical development, manufacturing, and global commercialization of products emerging from the collaboration.
Under the agreement, UNP will receive up to $100 million in upfront and pre-IND milestone payments and up to $1.7 billion in development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. UNP is also eligible to receive tiered royalties mid-single up to low double-digits on annual net sales.
Source: UNP
Gilead, Chinhao Pharmaceuticals in $1.53-Bn Oncology Drug Pact
Gilead and Chinhao Pharmaceutical, a Suzhou, China-based bio/pharmaceutical company, have entered into a global collaboration agreement, in a deal worth up to $1.53 billion ($80 million upfront and $1.45 billion in milestone payments).
Under the agreement, Gilead will acquire exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize GH31, an oral cancer drug that targets the MAT2A pathway. Qinhao Pharmaceuticals will receive an upfront payment of $80 million and is eligible for development, registration, and commercialization milestone payments of up to $1.45 billion as well as royalties based on tiered double-digit percentages of net sales.
The project has received approval of investigational new drug applications in the US and China to allow for initiation of global clinical development. Gilead will be fully responsible for the global development, regulatory submissions, and future commercialization of GH31.
Source: Chinhao Pharmacuetical
Lilly, CSL in $100-M mAb Pact
CSL has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company granting Lilly certain rights to develop and commercialize CSL’s clazakizumab, an anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) monoclonal antibody, in a deal worth up to $100 million.
Developed by Vitaeris and acquired by CSL in 2020, clazakizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets IL-6, a cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. IL-6 is a mediator of diverse biological processes, including immune regulation, hematopoiesis, and vascular inflammation. By preventing the binding of IL-6 with its receptor, clazakizumab may mitigate the cascade that contributes to the symptoms and progression of various immuno-inflammatory conditions, potentially offering therapeutic benefits for these conditions.
Under the agreement, CSL will retain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize clazakizumab for the prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Lilly will explore the development, global regulatory approval, and commercialization of clazakizumab in additional indications. CSL will receive an upfront payment of $100 million and will be eligible to receive potential clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on global net sales.
Source: CSL
GSK, Jackson Labs in Neuroscience Research Pact
GSK and The Jackson Laboratory–New York Stem Cell Foundation Collaborative, a nonprofit biomedical research institution, have announced a five-year strategic research collaboration focused on advancing human cellular models of neurodegenerative disease, including for Alzheimer’s disease.
The collaboration reflects a strategic focus that brings together human stem-cell research, advanced data science tools, and large-scale research systems to help close a long-standing gap between scientific discovery and the development of new medicines. The goal is to generate disease-relevant cellular models that enable the scientific community to further the underlying human biology of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and accelerate the translation of those insights into potential therapies.
Source: The Jackson Laboratory–New York Stem Cell Foundation Collaborative
Appointments
Sanofi Names New Specialty Care Head in Another Leadership Change
Sanofi has announced the appointment of Manuela Buxo, currently leading Sanofi’s Global Immunology Alliance Franchise, as Head of Specialty Care, effective March 1, 2026. Manuela will succeed Brian Foard, who nows leads the Specialty Care Global Business Unit and who has decided to leave the company as of February 28, 2026, having accepted an external leadership opportunity.
Buxo currently leads Sanofi’s Global Immunology Alliance Franchise and oversees its worldwide strategy and performance. She has over 20 years of international healthcare experience and prior leadership roles across Specialty Care in Europe and global franchise management.
Buxo joins Belén Garijo as a new member of Sanofi’s leadership team. Earlier this month (February 2026), Garijo was announced as Sanofi’s next CEO, and that appointment will be effective April 29, 2026. She will succeed Paul Hudson, the company’s former CEO, who was in that role until February 17, 2026. Olivier Charmeil, currently Executive Vice President, General Medicines, and member of the company’s Executive Committee since 2011, will assume the role of interim CEO during this transition.
Source: Sanofi
