HLB announced on the 7th that it
has officially signed a patent transfer agreement with the Advenchen
Laboratories (Advenchen), which holds the global patent rights of Rivoceranib.
With the deal, HLB will complete the acquisition of global patents, including
China, and will then receive royalties for the commercialization of
Rivoceranib.
When comparing the Binding Term Sheet
signed on February 27th, the contract amount and the subject of the
contract were partially changed in consideration of convenience such as tax
relations between the parties.
The final contract amount was $42 million,
down $8 million, but changed to the condition that Advenchen will receive a royalty
for this year. In other words, instead of reducing the number of rights
transferred, HLB changed the royalty fee in China, which was scheduled to be
received from this year based on last year's sales, to receive from “next year
based on this year's sales."
In addition, Advenchen Nanjing and SFFT
were added to the Parties to the Agreement. The deal is said to have been
signed as global rights, including China, belong to a Chinese corporation owned
by G Paul Chen, CEO of Advenchen and original developer of Rivoceranib.
The final deal closing is about 90 days
after all global patents are transferred to HLB.
Under the main contract, Advenchen Nanjing
and SFFT will receive only $15 million in cash out of the total contract
amount, while the remaining $27 million will be re-participated in the HLB
paid-in capital increase. The new shares will be protected for one year.
"Mr. Chen is more confident of the
high potential and future value of Rivoceranib than anyone else," an HLB
official said. "He expressed his intention to participate in the evidence
to share the birth process of a new global blockbuster-class drug."
Under the main contract, HLB will receive
royalties for Hengrui Medicine's sales in China to Rivoceranib as well as for its
global sales of Elevar Therapeutics, which will ensure long-term and stable
operating profit. In particular, Rivoceranib has been approved as a liver
cancer treatment since it was marketed in China in 2014 as a stomach cancer
treatment (product name Aitan) and has been rapidly expanding its adaptability,
including the approval of phase 3 of the clinical trial of combination therapy
for non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer.
HLB is currently preparing Rivoceranib's
NDA for late-stage stomach cancer and is also conducting global clinical trials
for Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC), liver cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer,
and Sarcoma.
Meanwhile, at the ESMO Virtual Congress 2020, which will be held from September 19th to 21st, 21 different papers on Rivoceranib will be published, including the clinical trial results of phase 3 thyroid cancer and lung cancer.