Pfizer promises $1.25B for drug candidates in the promising but competitive field of immunotherapy
Pfizer’s top cancer drugs are small molecules, but the deal has expanded the portfolio and pipeline of drug giants through biologics. Its latest deal puts the pharmaceutical giant into the camps of a group of companies that turned to China to have the opportunity to develop a specific type of immunotherapy.
Pfizer's license comes from 3SBIO, headquartered in China. Pfizer will pay $1.25 billion in global biological rights upfront, excluding China, under the terms of the deal announced earlier this week. But the deal gives Pfizer the option to obtain commercialization rights for the drug in China. In addition, Big Pharma has committed to making $100 million in stock investment in 3SBIO.
3SBIO drug SSGJ-707 treats cancer by blocking two proteins. The first target is PD-1, a protein on T cells that prevents it from recognizing and fighting cancer cells. Merck drug keytruda is a drug of this type, a monoclonal antibody designed to block PD-1. KeyTruda's successful treatment of cancer has turned immunotherapy into a large obstacle.
More and more companies are trying to improve PD-1 inhibition by adding another mechanism of action. The 3SBIO drug is one of them, part of the emerging bispecific antibodies that block both PD-1 and VEGF. 3SBIO drug is currently undergoing clinical development of non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic colon cancer and gynecological tumors in China. 3SBIO plans to conduct phase 3 testing of the drug in China later this year.
Pfizer is not shy about opening its checkbook to diversify its portfolio and deepen its pipeline, especially in oncology. Two years ago, Pfizer paid $43 billion to acquire Seagen, a company that specializes in the development of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for cancer. Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger wrote in a note sent to investors on Tuesday that the deal for 3SBIO drugs is perfect for Pfizer.
“We believe SSGJ-707 fits well [Pfizer’s] Existing ADC portfolio and adding another important pipeline candidate to [its] “Oncology portfolio. But given the crowding of this category, we need to evaluate its competitive differentiation.”
Turning to promising therapeutic candidates for Chinese biotech companies is a hot trend, and it is taking a step as more companies try to master bispecific antibodies against PD-1 and VEGF. Summit Therapeutics is one of its bispecific drugs that have been licensed from Akeso in China. Last year, the drug Ivonescimab beat Merck's Keytruda in a head-to-head test. Merck added a bispecific antibody candidate to the same target last year, with Shanghai-based Lanova Medicines paying $588 million in LM-299 rights for $588 million, a version in China underway for Phase 1 testing.
Both Biontech and Instilbio pursue PD-1 and VEGF using bispecific antibodies, each of which obtains fixed drugs from biotech companies in China. Meanwhile, Waltham, Massachusetts-based Crescent Biopharma aims to submit research on new drug applications against bispecific antibodies to PD-1 and VEGF founded and developed by the end of this year; it will publicly finance its clinical trial program in the reverse merger.
The SSGJ-707 license agreement issued by SSGJ-707 still requires approval from 3SBIO shareholders and regulators. The two companies expect the deal to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Under the agreement, after the agreement is over, Pfizer will make a $100 million equity investment in 3SBIO. If the drug reaches a milestone, 3SBIO could earn up to $4.8 billion in revenue. Pfizer is also responsible for paying China's biotech royalties from the sale of approved products.
With the location of the drug production business, the location of the drug industry has become a major problem because of potential tariffs imposed by braces on drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients produced overseas. Pfizer said it plans to produce the SSGJ-707 drug at a location in Sanford, North Carolina, which itself will be produced at a facility in McPherson, Kansas.
Photo: Dominick Reuter/AFP, via Getty Images
