On November 6, 2018 South Korean pharma company Yuhan Corp (KS: 000100) reported it has licensed out its new clinical-stage lung cancer drug to Janssen Biotech, a unit of US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), in a deal potentially valued at up to $1.25 billion, according to the Korea Herald and other local media (Press release, Genosco, NOV 6, 2018, View Source [SID1234531533]).
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11/16/2018 Yuhan signs $1.25 billion licensing deal with Janssen View Source 2/3 Yuhan said it had entered a licensing and cooperation agreement with Janssen to develop lazertinib, a novel clinical-stage therapeutic candidate for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Following news of the agreement, shares of Yuhan spiked 29.78% to close at 231,000 won on Monday.
Deal includes $50 million upfront payment
Under the terms of the agreement, Yuhan will receive an upfront payment of $50 million and is eligible to receive up to $1.205 billion in potential
development and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered double-digit royalties on future net sales.
"Yuhan is committed to developing lazertinib as an effective treatment option for patients suffering from NSCLC. And Janssen, with strong
scientific expertise in lung cancer and oncology, is the best strategic partner to achieve this mission," said Lee Jung-hee, president and chief
executive of Yuhan, adding: "We are excited to start this collaboration and dive into advancing this treatment regimen with a focus on improving
the lives of people who suffer from lung cancer."
The compound is currently in an ongoing Phase I/II clinical trials in Korea. Interim results showed that lazertinib exhibited robust disease activity
in patients with NSCLC with acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs, with or without brain metastasis and was well tolerated with low rates of Grade 3
or higher adverse events.
In 2015, US firm Genosco partnered globally with Yuhan for development and commercialization of lazertinib, on which data from a Phase I/II
study in NSCLC were presented at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) meeting in June this year.
Results from the open-label, multi-center dose-escalation, Phase I/II study of lazertinib (YH25448, GNS-1480) for patients with advanced EGFRTKI-resistant
NSCLC with or without CNS metastasis concluded that lazertinib was well-tolerated with low rates of Grade 3 or higher adverse
events (AE) and exhibited robust activity in patients with NSCLC with acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs, with or without brain metastasis.