By Saadet Gokce
ISTANBUL (AA) - American large pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and Chinese company 3SBio completed China's largest deal for a drug in the East Asian nation's biotechnology sector on Friday.
The agreement grants Pfizer "exclusive rights for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of 3SBio’s SSGJ-707, a bispecific antibody targeting PD-1 and VEGF developed using 3SBio’s proprietary CLF2 platform," Pfizer said in a statement.
3SBio, headquartered in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, will receive a $1.25 billion payment as well as a $100 million equity investment.
The US company will also pay 3SBio up to $150 million for exclusive rights on the mainland.
SSGJ-707 is currently being studied in multiple clinical trials in China for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), metastatic colorectal cancer, and a variety of gynecological tumors.
"Positive interim Phase 2 results evaluating the safety and efficacy of SSGJ-707 as monotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC were recently presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting," the statement said.