On July 23, 2020 Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Company Limited ("Hansoh Pharma"; 3692.HK), a leading biopharmaceutical company in China, reported a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement for almonertinib with EQRx, a biopharmaceutical company committed to making innovative medicines at dramatically lower prices for the benefit of people and society (Press release, Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical, JUL 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234562309]). Under the terms of the agreement, EQRx will be responsible for the development and commercialization of almonertinib in the United States, Europe, Japan and all other global markets outside of Greater China, and Hansoh Pharma will continue its development and commercialization of almonertinib in Greater China. EQRx and Hansoh will seek to jointly conduct global studies to further expand the potential of almonertinib as a monotherapy and in combination therapy settings. Hansoh will receive approximately $100 million in upfront payment and development and regulatory milestones, with additional undisclosed commercial milestones as well as royalty payments.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"With a world-class clinical and regulatory team, EQRx is an outstanding partner for Hansoh Pharma to advance the development of almonertinib outside of Greater China," said Aifeng Lyu, Ph.D., President of Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Hansoh Pharma. "We look forward to working closely with EQRx for the benefit of lung cancer patients around the world."

"We are excited to add almonertinib to our ever expanding pipeline of innovative medicines," said Alexis Borisy, chairman, founder and chief executive officer of EQRx. "This agreement adds a high quality, clinically significant therapy for treating lung cancer, while bringing EQRx a step closer to making critically important medicines affordable for people who need them."

In March 2020, almonertinib received marketing authorization from the NMPA in China for second-line treatment in patients with EGFR T790M mutation-positive NSCLC. Almonertinib provides a highly efficacious treatment option with favorable safety profile for advanced NSCLC patients.

About Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among both men and women globally, including in China. In 2018, there were approximately 867,500 new diagnoses of lung cancer in China, of which 737,400, or approximately 85%, were recorded as NSCLC in 2018, with a five-year survival rate of only 19.3%. About 40% of these are EGFR mutation-positive and approximately 50% of patients treated with first- or second-generation EGFR TKI therapy will acquire resistance related to the T790M mutation. [1]

About Almonertinib

Almonertinib 110mg once-daily tablet is a medicine indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic EGFR T790M mutation-positive NSCLC, as detected by an NMPA-approved test, who have progressed on or after prior EGFR TKI therapy. Almonertinib has demonstrated high, nanomolar inhibitory activity against common EGFR mutations, as well as drug-resistant T790M mutations.