This agreement marks the seventh collaboration between the two companies, deepening a longstanding and productive partnership to deliver new medicines for patients worldwide. The collaboration’s unique structure also establishes a new model for Innovent to accelerate the global development of its innovative pipeline, it states.

Under the collaboration, the companies will leverage their complementary strengths to accelerate global development of novel medicines. Innovent, drawing on its robust antibody technology platforms and efficient clinical execution, will lead the development of programs from concept through clinical proof-of-concept (Phase 2 clinical trial completion) in China. The agreement grants Lilly an exclusive license to develop and commercialize the programs worldwide outside Greater China, while Innovent retains rights in Greater China. 

“We’re delighted to partner with Lilly, our trusted global pharmaceutical partner for over 10 years, to pursue novel medicines to improve treatment outcomes for patients with cancer and immune disorders,” said Michael Yu, Founder, Chairman of the Board, and CEO of Innovent. “This alliance moves beyond traditional licensing to create a seamless, end-to-end innovation ecosystem that combines our agile discovery and early-stage development engine with Lilly’s extensive global scale and creates a highly efficient model for cross-border synergy. This partnership validates Innovent’s R&D capabilities and allows us to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into impactful global medical solutions together with our partner, with the ultimate goal of bringing world-class medicines to patients across the globe.” 

A USD 350 million upfront payment

Under the terms of the agreement, Innovent will receive a $350 million upfront payment and is eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments totaling up to approximately USD 8.5 billion contingent upon the achievement of certain future events. Additionally, Innovent will be eligible for tiered royalties on net sales of each product outside of Greater China.