2024-06-04
1. Executive Summary of the Month
In May, 63 licensing and cooperation agreements were finalized worldwide, marking a significant increase from the previous month. Within the China Biotech Industry, there were 11 out-licensing deals, 2 in-licensing deals, and 3 domestic agreements. The high value of deals, especially those involving Chinese companies, suggests that there is significant innovation and valuable intellectual property coming out of China. The standout deal of the month was an out-licensing agreement between Hengrui Pharmaceuticals and Hercules CM NewCo, valued at $6,035 million with an upfront payment of $100 million.
Globally, 47 licensing and cooperation deals were completed. The most notable agreement was between Novavax and Sanofi for NVX-CoV2373 and the Matrix-M™ adjuvant, with a total deal value of $1,200 million and an upfront payment of $500 million.\
2024年5月，全球医药市场共签署了63项资产授权和合作协议，较4月份的28项有显著增加。其中，中国医药市场共达成16项交易，包括11项出海交易（4月仅有1项）、2项引进交易和3项国内交易。本月中国市场最重要的交易来自恒瑞医药和Hercules CM NewCo就GLP-1产品组合达成的资产出海交易，首付款1亿美元、总价值60.35亿美元。
国际市场上，5月份共签署了47项资产授权和合作协议。最大的一笔交易是Sanofi与Novavax就NVX-CoV2373和Matrix-MTM佐剂达成的授权交易，首付款5亿美元，总价值12亿美元。
Target
Deal Size
Buyer
The notable deal of this week is Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of Yellow Jersey, a subsidiary of Swiss bispecific Biotech Numab, for $1.25 billion, further supplementing its platform in the field of Inflammation & Immunology. Just two weeks ago, Johnson & Johnson also acquired Proteologix, a preclinical-stage Inflammation & Immunology Biotech, for $850 million in cash.
Yellow Jersey’s core pipeline is NM26, a bispecific antibody targeting the IL4R alpha subunit and IL31 for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, which has already completed phase I trials. Compared to Sanofi’s IL4/IL13 mAb Dupixent and Galderma’s IL-31 mAb Nemolizumab, NM26 could simultaneously inhibit two important pruritus mediators, suppressing the neuroinflammation pathway of pruritus more effectively.
Currently, Inflammation & Immunology are hot fields for investment and M&A, among which atopic dermatitis receiving more attention due to the success of Dupixent. However, the large patient population also corresponds to the high development cost, out-licensing is still the core strategy for most Biotechs. In addition to bispecific antibodies like NM26, PROTAC also shows promising efficacy against Inflammation & Immunology diseases and is equally worth attention.
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
Target
Deal Size
Buyer
本周值得关注的交易是强生以12.5亿美金收购了瑞士双抗生物制药公司Numab的子公司Yellow Jersey，进一步补充自己在炎症免疫领域的技术平台。就在两周前，强生还以8.5亿美金现金收购了Proteologix, 一家临床前阶段的炎症免疫生物制药公司。
Yellow Jersey的核心管线是NM26, 一个用于治疗特异性皮炎的IL4R alpha亚基与IL31的双抗，目前已经完成了一期实验。对比赛诺菲的IL4/IL13单抗 Dupixent与Galderma的IL-31 单抗Nemolizumab, 该资产可以同时抑制两个重要的瘙痒介质，可以更有效的抑制瘙痒的神经炎症通路。
目前炎症免疫是投资和并购的热门赛道，其中特异性皮炎赛道由于Dupixent的成功更受关注，但其庞大的患者数量也对应着高昂的开发成本，所以大多数生物制药公司仍然以转让权益作为核心策略。除了NM26这样的双抗，还有PROTAC对于炎症免疫疾病也有着很好的疗效，同样值得关注。
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
Target
Deal Size
Buyer
This week, an alternative asset transaction is worth noting. Royalty Pharma has invested in Cytokinetics’ Aficamten, a first-in-class drug intended for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) currently in phase III clinical trials, with a $300M upfront payment and $275M in milestone payments. As the only drug clinically verified to be effective for HCM, it has good safety and tolerability and can effectively improve the ejection fraction of patients.
Royalty Pharma’s business model is similar to that of a fund-like company, profiting by investing in back-end sales royalties or asset rights. The company mainly invests in products post-PoC (Proof of Concept) or already approved, with relatively low scientific risk. In 2023, the company’s revenue reached $2.35 billion, and its representative investment products include blockbuster drugs such as Revlimid and Eylea.
The trend of not investing in company equity but in company assets has also begun to emerge in China, e.g. the GLP-1 transaction recently signed between Hengrui and Bain Capital and other investment institutions, which is very similar to Royalty Pharma’s business model.
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
Target
Deal Size
Buyer
本周值得关注的是一项另类资产交易。Royalty Pharma以3亿美金预付款和2.75亿美金里程碑的形式投资了Cytokinetics的Aficamten，一款拟用于肥厚性心肌病(HCM)的首创药物，目前在进行三期临床实验。作为唯一一款被临床证明有效的HCM药物，具有良好的安全性和耐受性，可以有效提高患者的射血分数。
Royalty Pharma的业务模式类似于一种基金制公司，通过投资pipeline后端销售分成或者资产的权益来获利。 公司主要投资PoC后或者已上市的产品，有比较低的科学风险。2023年，公司收入达到23.5亿美金，其代表性的投资产品包括Revlimid、Eylea等超级重磅炸弹药物。
不投资公司股权而是公司资产的趋势在中国也已经开始出现，比如恒瑞和贝恩资本等投资机构在近期达成的GLP-1交易，与Royalty Pharma的业务模式非常相似。
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
Target
$ 1 Billion
Deal Size
Buyer
On May 2, Novartis announced the acquisition of Mariana Oncology, an innovative radiopharmaceutical company, for $1 billion, further consolidating its current position as the global leader in radiopharmaceutical field. Earlier this week, Novartis also announced an agreement with PeptiDream to collaborate on the development of a cyclic peptide RDC drug.
Novartis already has two approved radiopharmaceutical products, Lutathera and Pluvicto, which contributed nearly $500 million in sales in the first quarter of 2024.
According to the transaction information disclosed, the two parties began contact at the JPM conference in January this year. Mariana Oncology raised $175 million just last year, valuing it at about $300 million, and the investors made a significant profit on the deal. Mariana currently mainly targets a variety of solid tumors through the combination of peptides and alpha-emitting radionuclide. The company has well-equipped upstream and downstream production facility. Its leading asset MC-339 is expected to submit IND for the treatment of lung cancer this year.
This transaction has furtherly driven the already hot radiopharmaceutical field, and greatly raised the future transaction expectations. There is an increasing asset-heavy trend in the radiopharmaceutical field, and Chinese companies will have more opportunities to participate.
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
Target
$ 1 Billion
Deal Size
Buyer
5月2日，诺华宣布以10亿美金收购核药创新药企Mariana Oncology, 进一步巩固了自己目前全球核药龙头的地位。本周早些时候，诺华还宣布了与PeptiDream达成合作开发环肽RDC药物的协议。
目前诺华已经有两款核药在进行商业化销售，分别是Lutathera 和Pluvicto, 两款药物在2024年第一季度贡献了接近5亿美金的销售额。
根据与Mariana交易披露的信息，双方在今年1月的JPM大会开始接触。Mariana Oncology在去年刚进行了1.75亿美元的融资，当时的估值约为3亿美金，投资人在该交易的收益非常可观。Mariana目前主要通过多肽与Alpha射线核药联合治疗多种实体瘤。公司拥有非常完善的上下游生产设备。目前公司的主要资产MC-339预计今年提交IND，用于肺癌的治疗。
本交易进一步带动了本已经火热的核药赛道，极大提升了未来的交易预期。核药领域有着非常大的重资产趋势，中国企业将会有更多的机会参与其中。
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
Target
$6,035 Million
Deal Size
Buyer
The hot deal of the week is undoubtedly Hengrui’s out-licensing deal, with its global rights (ex-Greater China) for three GLP-1 related assets, including the GLP-1 small molecule, being out-licensed for an upfront payment of $110 million to an established American company, Hercules.
It is worth noting that the company is jointly founded by Hengrui and several US veteran funds, including Bain Capital Life Sciences, RTW Investments, Atlas Venture and Lyra Capital. Hengrui has retained a portion of its rights to the asset in this transaction, avoiding the embarrassment of its TSLP asset being arbitraged last year.
It can be observed that in the first half of this year, equity transactions have already emerged in M&As and out-licensing deals. This type of transaction allows for greater flexibility to both buyers and sellers, such as AnHeart Therapeutics’ being equity acquired that indirectly led to a public listing. And by tying up with American veteran funds, the success rate of asset out-licensing will be greatly increased in the future.
Hercules will become a new “Hengrui” with an internationalized management team, internationalized shareholders, and internationalized clinical data, greatly increasing the possibility for a higher-priced out-licensing deal.
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
Target
$6,035 Million
Deal Size
Buyer
本周的热门交易毫无疑问是恒瑞的变向出海，其包括GLP-1小分子在内的3款GLP-1相关资产的全球权益（大中华区以外）以1.1亿美元的首付款授权给一家新成立的美国公司Hercules。
值得注意的是，该公司是由恒瑞以及数家美国老牌基金包括贝恩，ATLAS，RTW以及Lyra Capital联合成立的。恒瑞在该交易中保持了自己对于产品的部分权益，避免了去年TSLP资产被赚差价的尴尬。
可以发现，在今年上半年的并购和出海交易中，股权类交易已经出现。该类型交易可以让买卖双方更加灵活，比如葆元生物通过股权类并购变向上市。而且，通过与美国老牌基金绑定，也大大增加了未来资产出海的成功概率。
未来Hercules将会是一个管理团队国际化，股东国际化，临床数据国际化的新“恒瑞”，极大增加了以更高价格进行对外授权的可能性。
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
2. Licensing Deals
2a. Out-Licensing Deals
2b. In-Licensing Deals
2c. Domestic Licensing Deals
3. 2019-2023 China Innovative Drug Licensing Transactions
About YAFO Capital
Founded in 2013, YAFO Capital is a Shanghai based boutique investment and advisory firm, with professional team in our China, U.S., and London offices. Partnering with Pharmaceutical companies, YAFO Fund mainly invests in global assets. YAFO Life Sciences is a leading advisory boutique focused on asset transactions. YAFO has built a strong proven track record and closed dozens of in-licensing and out-licensing transactions with global pharma and biotech companies. YAFO has been ranked as the No. 1 advisor for China cross border licensing transactions in the past three years. For more information, please visit http://www.yafocapital.com
雅法资本成立于2013年，作为新型投资和投行咨询机构，致力于中国及海外生物医药项目的投资、融资服务、产品引进和资产孵化等。雅法在生物医药跨境授权及并购业务领域过往三年交易数量排名第一。旗下雅法基金联合药企进行资产投资和并购，雅法全球医疗专注于医药产品跨境及国内授权交易。基于雅法在全球广泛的人脉与资源网络，在过去十年成功推进了大量的海外项目进入中国市场并协助多个中国产品完成海外授权。雅法拥有经验丰富的全球交易团队，覆盖美国、日本 、欧洲等全球主要医药创新区域。核心合伙人均为华尔街资深投行人士或具有跨国药企经历，为客户交易提供强力支持。雅法总部位于上海，在伦敦、洛杉矶、东京、米兰、剑桥等地均设有分部。
ACCESS CHINA
Event Name: ACCESS CHINA Networking & Gathering @BIO
Date & Time: June 2-6, 2024
Venue: San Diego
Content: Reception, 1X1 meetings
Participants: Pharma/Biotech senior management and BDs.
Registration Link: https://jinshuju.net/f/AqkB9m?x_field_1=BIO
BioToChina.org 