The agreement will enable Innovent to co-develop and commercialise AnHeart’ taletrectinib in Greater China, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan
Innovent inks license deal with AnHeart for taletrectinib in Greater China. (Credit: Tumisu from Pixabay)
Innovent Biologics has signed an exclusive license agreement with AnHeart Therapeutics to co-develop and commercialise the latter’s lead drug candidate, taletrectinib, in Greater China.
Taletrectinib is an investigational next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) designed to effectively target ROS1 and NTRK with the potential to treat TKI-naïve or pre-treated patients.
With the latest agreement, Innovent will now co-develop and commercialise AnHeart’ taletrectinib in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Under the deal, AnHeart will continue to develop taletrectinib up to regulatory approval in mainland China, while Innovent has the right to co-develop the drug candidate in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan up to regulatory approval.
Also, AnHeart will be responsible for the supply of taletrectinib in Greater China for both developmental and commercial related activities.
Furthermore, AnHeart will receive an upfront payment, R&D fees and potential milestone payments worth $189m. It will also receive tiered royalties based on annual net sales of taletrectinib in Greater China.
AnHeart CEO and co-founder Jerry Junyuan Wang said: “We are excited to collaborate with Innovent, a leading biopharmaceutical company which has demonstrated outstanding development and commercialisation capabilities, to commercialise taletrectinib in greater China.
“Following the first commercial partnership in Korea, we entered into with NewG Lab in July 2020, our collaboration with Innovent further advances our mission to accelerate global patient access to taletrectinib upon approval.”
Currently, AnHeart’s taletrectinib is undergoing three phase 2 studies, including the phase 2 study for first-line treatment of TKI-naive and second-line treatment of TKI-pretreated ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in China.
Also, the drug candidate is undergoing the phase 2 study for NTRK-positive solid tumours in China and the phase 2 study for first-line and second-line treatment of ROS1-positive NSCLC globally.
Innovent Biologics president Dr Yong Jun Liu said: “We are very pleased to enter a collaboration with AnHeart. We have been impressed with our partner’s capability to advance the global development of taletrectinib and we are excited to help bring taletrectinib to patients in Greater China.
“This collaboration further strengthens our position in oncology by adding a late-stage and potential best-in-class targeted therapy into our portfolio.
“At the same time, it further proves that Innovent is an ideal partner for biopharmaceutical companies in terms of accelerating development and commercialisation progress.”