BeyondSpring has cashed in on the validation of its lung cancer drug. Weeks after shocking analysts with phase 3 trial data that far exceeded expectations, a BeyondSpring subsidiary has secured $30 million upfront for rights to the drug in greater China, sending its share price on another surge.
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals has taken the other side of the deal, handing over $30 million and committing to a further $170 million in regulatory and sales milestones for exclusive regional rights to plinabulin. Wanchunbulin, BeyondSpring’s 58%-owned subsidiary in China, will work with Hengrui to co-develop plinabulin in indications beyond non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Hengrui is also set to invest $15 million in Wanchunbulin.
The deal comes weeks after BeyondSpring reported phase 3 data on plinabulin, a drug that until this month was best known for its potential role in stopping a side effect of chemotherapy. BeyondSpring is closing in on approval in that context in the U.S. and China but is now also positioned to go after a larger therapeutic application of the drug.
In a phase 3 NSCLC clinical trial, adding plinabulin to docetaxel improved overall survival in second- and third-line patients over the chemotherapy alone. Other vascular disrupting agents have failed in the past, but BeyondSpring identified another mechanism that suggested plinabulin could activate tumor antigen-specific T-cells. Even so, the result took observers by surprise. Shares in BeyondSpring surged by around 170% to above $26.
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Lianshan Zhang, Ph.D., president of global R&D at Hengrui, highlighted the phase 3 data, saying the company is “very excited about plinabulin’s positive anti-cancer benefit.” The deal provides a degree of external validation of the asset ahead of the release of more data that could clear up outstanding doubts about the drug.
BeyondSpring is now preparing to seek approval in NSCLC and will work with Hengrui on a filing with the Chinese regulator. The deal leaves BeyondSpring with full rights to plinabulin outside of greater China, setting it up to strike more licensing agreements down the line.