Shanghai Henlius Biotech is in talks with multinational pharmaceutical firms including Johnson & Johnson and Roche Holding about selling them the rights to an experimental cancer drug, people familiar with the matter said.
An agreement could fetch the subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical at least several hundred million dollars up front and then more in milestone payments down the road based on the drug’s performance, the people said. They asked not to be identified because the discussions were private.
Negotiations are ongoing and Henlius could push for a higher figure as more data on the drug’s performance becomes available, the people said. There is also no guarantee that an agreement will be reached, they said.
Talks centre on HLX43, an antibody-drug conjugate targeting a molecule that helps cancer evade detection by the immune system. It is in mid-stage testing in China.
Representatives for J&J and Roche declined to comment. Henlius said the information was inaccurate, though it did not elaborate further.
Henlius shares reversed losses on Tuesday morning following a Bloomberg News report, rising as much as 4.2 per cent in Hong Kong.
