DEALS
Zhong Lun Advises Lepu Bio on an Over USD 1 Billion Global Intellectual Property Licensing
Zhong Lun Advises Lepu Bio on an Over USD 1 Billion Global Intellectual Property Licensing
Lepu Biopharma Co., Ltd (“Lepu Bio", stock code: 2157.HK) and Keymed Biosciences Inc. (“Keymed") jointly announced a global exclusive license agreement with AstraZeneca AB for CMG901, a potential first-in-class Claudin 18.2 antibody drug conjugate (ADC). The transaction was signed by AstraZeneca and KYM Biosciences Inc., a joint venture set by Lepu Bio’s and Keymed’s affiliated entities. According to the transaction documents, AstraZeneca will obtain an exclusive global license for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of CMG901, while KYM will receive an upfront payment, potential milestone payments and a tiered percentage of sales.
Steadily committed to innovation, Lepu Bio focuses its business on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class and best-in-class drug candidates in anti-tumor targeted therapy and immunotherapy drugs. At present, Lepu Bio’s product pipeline covers three major areas, namely immunotherapy, ADC targeted therapy and oncolytic virus drugs.
This cross-border drug intellectual property licensing transaction involves many entities, and the transaction structure is complex. Zhong Lun, as the legal counsel of Lepu Bio, provided the client with legal services encompassing analysis and demonstration of relevant legal issues before and during the transaction, review and revision of transaction documents and related legal services. The project is led by partner Dongxiao Ma and handled by non-equity partner Chunhui Yan. Siyao Chen also participated.
