Innovent Biologics and GenFleet Therapeutics announced an exclusive license agreement to develop and commercialize GenFleet's KRAS G12C candidate GFH925 in greater China.
In the deal, Innovent will pay GenFleet $22 million upfront for rights to GFH925 in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan and have the option to develop and commercialize the drug outside of greater China. If Suzhou, China-headquartered Innovent exercises its option to license the drug outside of the greater China region, GenFleet will receive up to $50 million in global development support. GenFleet is also eligible to receive up to $240 million in milestone payments along with tiered royalties on GFH925 sales in China and global markets.
Shanghai-based GenFleet has been developing GFH925 as a treatment for non-small cell lung cancer and other solid tumors. In July, China's National Medical Products Administration cleared the company to begin a Phase I/II clinical trial of GFH925 for advanced solid tumors in patients with the KRAS G12C mutation.
In acquiring rights to develop GFH925, Innovent will study the drug as a monotherapy and in combination regimens, for example, with anti-PD-1 therapies. "By leveraging our synergy in clinical development and commercialization, we hope to expedite the development and launch of GFH925," Innovent President Yongjun Liu, said in a statement.
GenFleet has several other therapeutic candidates in Phase I trials, including drugs targeting the TGF-beta type 1 receptor, CDK9, and RIPK1.
