China's Sino Biopharm Grants AstraZeneca Rights to COPD Drug in Up to USD1.9 Billion Deal

(Yicai) July 8 -- Chinese drugmaker Sino Biopharmaceutical has granted UK-Swedish peer AstraZeneca the global rights outside of China to an innovative treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a persistent inflammatory lung condition that makes it difficult to breathe, in a deal worth up to USD1.9 billion.

AstraZeneca will receive the rights to develop, produce, and commercialize TQC3721, a dual phosphodiesterase 3/4 inhibitor, from Sino Biopharm's unit Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group, the Beijing-based parent firm announced yesterday. In addition, it will be given the exclusive global rights to the dedicated development plans of the drug.

Under the deal, AstraZeneca will make a down payment of USD200 million, followed by development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments of as much as USD1.7 billion. It will also pay up to double-digit percentage royalties on annual net sales. The agreement is pending approval from relevant regulators.

Sino Biopharm has one of the deepest layouts in China's respiratory sector and has achieved domestic substitution of budesonide suspension, with annual sales exceeding CNY500 million (USD73.6 million). With the help of AstraZeneca's experience in clinical development and its own innovation capabilities, the firm can accelerate the global development of TQC3721, it pointed out.

AstraZeneca is the world's largest drugmaker in the respiratory and immune area by revenue, having more than 15 respiratory product pipelines and four leading products with annual sales of over USD1 billion each.

TQC3721 achieves synergistic enhancement of bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory effects by balancing the inhibition of PDE3 and PDE4. It is expected to improve lung function, reduce the risk of acute exacerbation, and effectively alleviate the long-term disease burden of patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

The TQC3721 nebulized inhalation suspension is undergoing Phase III clinical trials for treating COPD in China, while the dry inhalation powder is advancing to Phase II clinical trials, Sino Biopharm noted, adding that the drug will likely be the first domestically produced dual PDE3/4 inhibitor approved on the Chinese market.

Verona Pharma's Ensifentrine is the only drug similar to the TQC3721 on the market worldwide. Merck, which is known as Merck Sharp & Dohme outside of the United States and Canada, agreed to acquire Verona for USD10 billion in July last year, with the transaction to be completed this October. The deal drew much attention to the market.

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals and Haisco Pharmaceutical Group are some Chinese players on the COPD market. The pair licensed their PDE3/4 innovative drugs to UK's GSK and US' AirNexis Therapeutics, respectively, in July last year and this January.

Sino Biopharm [HKG: 1177] climbed 0.4 percent to HKD4.84 (61 US cents) a share as of 2.45 p.m. in Hong Kong today, after earlier rising by as much as 6.9 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev