AnHeart Therapeutics and Innovent Biologics Announce Exclusive License Agreement for Taletrectinib in Greater China

AnHeart Therapeutics Co., Ltd. a clinical stage oncology company focused on underserved patients in global markets, and Innovent Biologics, Inc. an innovative leading biopharmaceutical company announced an exclusive license agreement for the co-development and commercialization of AnHeart’s lead drug candidate taletrectinib, a next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) designed to effectively target ROS1 and NTRK, in Greater China, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Under the terms of the agreement, Innovent will obtain exclusive rights to co-develop and commercialize taletrectinib in Greater China. AnHeart will continue to be responsible for the development of taletrectinib up to regulatory approval in mainland China and for supplying taletrectinib for both developmental and commercial purposes in Greater China. Innovent has the right to co-develop taletrectinib in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan up to regulatory approval.

According to the agreement, AnHeart will receive an upfront payment, R&D fees, and potential milestone payments totaling $189 million in addition to tiered royalties based on annual net sales of taletrectinib in Greater China.

Taletrectinib is currently undergoing three phase II clinical studies, including (i) the phase II study for first line treatment of TKI-naive and second line treatment of TKI-pretreated ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in China, (ii) the phase II study for NTRK-positive solid tumors in China, and (iii) the phase II study for first line and second line treatment of ROS1-positive NSCLC globally.

“We are excited to collaborate with Innovent, a leading biopharmaceutical company which has demonstrated outstanding development and commercialization capabilities, to commercialize taletrectinib in greater China,” said Jerry Junyuan Wang, PhD, CEO and co-founder of AnHeart. “Following the first commercial partnership in Korea we entered into with NewG Lab in July 2020, our collaboration with Innovent further advances our mission to accelerate global patient access to taletrectinib upon approval.”

Dr. Yong Jun Liu, president of Innovent, stated, “We are very pleased to enter a collaboration with AnHeart. We have been impressed with our partner’s capability to advance the global development of taletrectinib and we are excited to help bring taletrectinib to patients in Greater China. This collaboration further strengthens our position in oncology by adding a late stage and potential best-in-class targeted therapy into our portfolio. Meanwhile, it further proves that Innovent is an ideal partner for biopharmaceutical companies in terms of accelerating development and commercialization progress.”