AbbVie Inc. Signs $2.9 Billion Deal with China’s I-Mab

Drugmaker AbbVie Inc. has inked a deal with Chinese drug developer I-Mab to collaborate on a cancer treatment.

The deal could be worth a value of over $2.9 billion and gives Illinois-based AbbVie an exclusive global license to develop and sell I-Mab’s cancer-fighting drug lemzoparlimab outside of Greater China.

Lemzoparlimab, also known as TJC4, is an antibody that was discovered by the Shanghai-based company and is used to treat multiple forms of cancer.

As part of the deal, AbbVie will pay I-Mab $180 million up front as well as $20 million based on recently-released clinical data. I-Mab could also receive as much as $1.74 billion in milestone payments based on development, regulatory and sales criteria and will get royalties from future sales of the drug.

Also as part of the partnership, AbbVie gets a right of first negotiation to license further development and sales of two other lemzoparlimab-based antibodies developed by I-Mab. The potential combined value would be at least $1 billion in upfront and milestone payments.

I-Mab also announced that a consortium led by Hillhouse Capital has said it would invest $418 million through a private placement. The deal includes an offering of 29.1 million ordinary shares to the investors at a price equivalent to $33 for each of I-Mab’s American depositary shares, according to another statement.

“Cancer is the second-leading cause of death globally and the need for novel cancer therapies has never been more acute. The addition of I-Mab’s novel CD47 programs complements our global clinical strategy in hematology and immuno-oncology,” said Thomas J. Hudson, M.D., senior vice president of R&D and chief scientific officer, AbbVie. “We have been impressed with what I-Mab has been able to accomplish in research and clinical development and we look forward to working together to make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of patients globally.”

“At the forefront of drug innovation, our goal at I-Mab has always been to bring transformational therapies to patients globally. This strategic collaboration reinforces I-Mab’s leading position in immuno-oncology and enables us to realize the full potential of our innovation,” said Jingwu Zang, M.D., Ph.D., Founder, Honorary Chairman and Director of I-Mab. “We are extremely proud to partner with AbbVie. By leveraging the combined development strength of our companies, we aim to speed lemzoparlimab to market for patients in need around the world.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.