Henlius, Sandoz Expand Oncology Biosimilars Partnership with mAbs, ADCs

Editor’s Take: The growing global value of biosimilars magnifies partnerships that accelerate development and commercialization.

Shanghai Henlius Biotech and Sandoz are strategically collaborating on up to 10 biosimilar products or components developed by Henlius. These proposed products fall into one of two categories, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) or antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Also, Henlius and Sandoz may eventually collaborate on three more initially agreed products, plus one additional asset option.

What Biosimilars Are Included

This agreement expands an April 2025 exclusive commercialization partnership between the two companies for HLX13, a proposed ipilimumab biosimilar. Initial assets covered in this new pact include:

• HLX05-N, a cetuximab injection biosimilar, for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
• HLX16, an evolocumab biosimilar, for treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia
• A belimumab biosimilar for treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis, currently in the preclinical research stage.

For the 10 products covered in the agreement, Henlius gives Sandoz exclusive registration and commercialization rights outside China.

Sandoz also obtained an option for HLXTE-HAase1001, a recombinant human hyaluronidase.

Financial Terms for Henlius

All told, Sandoz is giving Henlius an upfront payment; plus milestone payments and an option fee, this totals $322 million.

Going forward, the two parties plan to closely collaborate from early stages of product development, covering key product lifecycle points.

For Henlius, the expanded partnership serves as a crucial step in the company’s globalization strategy. Henlius says specifically that the new agreement validates the value of its biosimilars platform globally. The company’s partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies ultimately serve to expand product access to more countries, and accelerate biologics commercialization.

Sandoz, meanwhile, will be leveraging its global footprint to incorporate ex-China market insights into product development.