Chongqing Yao Pharmaceutical Company (Yao Pharma) and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Industrial Development Company, both subsidiaries of Fosun Pharma, have entered into an exclusive collaboration and licence agreement with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, according to a December announcement.
Under the agreement, Yao Pharma is granting Pfizer an exclusive worldwide licence for the development, use, manufacturing, and commercialisation of oral small-molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, including YP05002, and any products containing such oral small molecule GLP-1R agonists as an active ingredient.
The licence covers all indications for therapeutic, diagnostic, and prophylactic human and veterinary use. Under the terms of the agreement, Yao Pharma will complete an ongoing YP05002 Phase 1 clinical trial in Australia and is granting Pfizer an exclusive license to further develop, manufacture and commercialise YP05002 worldwide.
Yao Pharma will receive an upfront payment of $150 million and is eligible to receive milestone payments associated with certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones up to $1.935 billion, as well as tiered royalties on sales, if approved, according to the announcement.
The small-molecule GLP-1R agonists were researched and developed by Yao Pharma with proprietary intellectual property rights and are intended for the treatment of metabolic diseases. This could include chronic weight management, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), also known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). YP05002 is currently in Phase 1 clinical development in Australia.
"The partnership with Pfizer marks the international recognition of Yao Pharma's R&D capabilities. We firmly believe that only through openness and collaboration can the value of innovation be maximised,” Liu Qiang, chairman of Yao Pharma, said in the announcement.
Qiang added: “Leveraging Pfizer's exceptional global development experience and commercialization network, along with Yao Pharma's profound expertise in small molecule R&D and manufacturing, our shared goal is to enable this innovative drug candidate to be developed and commercialised in order to benefit patients worldwide more quickly and broadly."
Chen Yuqing, chairman of Fosun Pharma, which is part of Shanghai-headquartered Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, said: "The global collaboration with Pfizer is another significant milestone in Fosun Pharma's strategy of innovation and internationalisation."
Yuqing added: “Fosun Pharma is committed to addressing unmet clinical needs. We look forward to working with Pfizer to expedite the global development and commercialsation of YP05002, with the goal of working toward addressing the challenges of obesity and metabolic diseases for patients in need."
