Huadong Medicine will invest about $118 million for a 35% stake in Heidelberg Pharma plus dole out up to $930 million in a licensing deal for four oncology assets.
The equity play and strategic partnership comes just weeks after Dievini invested another $41 million into the German biotech to keep its lights on through mid-2023.
The licensing deal surrounds four Heidelberg assets, the companies disclosed (PDF) Monday. Huadong will pay Heidelberg $20 million upfront and up to $449 million in biobucks for the exclusive development and commercialization rights to HDP-101 and HDP-103 throughout much of Asia. The pact excludes Japan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
HDP-101 is a BCMA-targeted drug in a phase 1/2a study in up to 36 patients with multiple myeloma. The drug positions Heidelberg to go up against Big Pharma in one of the busiest corners of biotech. GlaxoSmithKline’s anti-BCMA drug, Blenrep, gained approval in 2020; Bristol Myers Squibb snagged a greenlight for its CAR-T cell therapy, Abecma, against the same target in 2021; and Johnson & Johnson is attempting to follow suit with partner Legend Biotech. The other asset, HDP-103 is intended for prostate cancer.
The deal also includes preclinical assets HDP-102 and HDP-104. Huadong will dish out up to $461 million for those two in exchange for an exclusive option. Beyond those four assets, Huadong has the right of first negotiation to license the next two candidates in Heidelberg’s “ATAC” pipeline for Asian markets. HDP-102 is directed at non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to the biotech’s pipeline.
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As part of the equity investment, the Hangzhou, China, biopharma will take over the subscription rights to Heidelberg from main shareholder Dievini and related entities, subject to closing conditions and foreign trade clearance. Dievini invested another $41 million in mid-February to fund the HDP-101 trial and other activities.
Heidelberg is also partners with Takeda, Magenta, Telix and Link Health.