Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has announced that it will be gaining rights to Hansoh Pharmaceuticals’ investigational dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist in a deal worth $2bn.
The in-licensing agreement will give Regeneron exclusive clinical development and commercial rights to the candidate, HS-20094, outside of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The drug, which is administered as a weekly subcutaneous injection, is currently being evaluated by Hansoh in a phase 3 obesity trial and phase 2b diabetes study in China.
It has already successfully completed multiple phase 2 trials, and demonstrated positive efficacy and safety data, according to the companies.
“Despite the transformative impact of recent weight loss therapies, significant unmet needs remain, including the ability to sustain weight loss and maintain muscle mass over time,” explained Regeneron’s president and chief scientific officer.
He continued: “Securing access to a GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist will increase the versatility of our clinical programmes for obesity and accelerate our mission to support quality, sustained weight loss and the associated long-term health benefits.”
The deal will see Regeneron pay $80m to Hansoh upfront, with Hansoh also eligible for up to $1.93bn in development, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as royalties for global net sales outside of its designated territories.
Eliza Sun, executive director of Hansoh’s board, said: “We look forward to HS-20094 potentially reaching patients worldwide through this new partnership.”
The announcement came on the same day that Regeneron shared interim results from a mid-stage study evaluating the addition of trevogrumab, its GDF8 antibody, to the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide for the treatment of obesity.
The phase 2 COURAGE trial showed that approximately 35% of semaglutide-induced weight loss was due to loss of lean mass, and demonstrated that combining semaglutide with trevogrumab, with or without Roche’s anti-activin antibody garetosmab, helped preserve lean mass while increasing loss of fat mass.
“In-licensing a late-stage GLP1/GIP agonist [HS-20094] will allow us to study combinations with Regeneron’s proprietary drugs and drug candidates in order to holistically address muscle loss and potentially other comorbidities of obesity, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and liver conditions,” said Boaz Hirshberg, senior vice president, clinical development, internal medicine at Regeneron.