AbbVie has secured the licensing rights for a bispecific antibody from Remegen.
While AbbVie is embroiled in rumors of a $20 billion acquisition, another deal has been firmly sealed.
On the evening of January 12, Chinese biopharmaceutical company Remegen (688331.SH, 09995.HK) announced it has entered into a licensing collaboration with AbbVie, with a total potential value of up to $5.6 billion.
According to the announcement released by Remegen, AbbVie will obtain the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize RC148 outside the Greater China region (hereinafter referred to as the "Collaboration Territory"). Upon the agreement's effectiveness following relevant regulatory approvals, Remegen will receive an upfront payment of $650 million and is eligible for up to $4.95 billion in development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, plus tiered double-digit royalties on net sales outside Greater China.
RC148 is a novel bispecific antibody drug targeting PD-1 and VEGF developed by Remegen. Its design aims to activate anti-tumor immune responses while simultaneously inhibiting tumor-driven angiogenesis. By concurrently targeting and inhibiting the PD-1 and VEGF pathways, it holds the potential to enhance the immune system's anti-tumor activity through multiple mechanisms. Currently, Remegen is conducting clinical studies in China on RC148 as a monotherapy and in combination therapies for treating patients with various advanced malignant solid tumors.
This deal is notable both for the size of its upfront payment and its total potential value.
As a core target in tumor immunotherapy, PD-1 has established a cornerstone status in the field due to its broad-spectrum and durable anti-tumor effects. However, the complexity of the tumor microenvironment and the issue of drug resistance mean it still does not fully meet clinical needs.
Since 2024, after 3SBio's PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody demonstrated potential to surpass Merck's Keytruda in "head-to-head" clinical trial data, major pharmaceutical companies have been racing to bet on whether this type of bispecific antibody can lead the next generation of immunotherapies.
In the first half of 2025, a $6.06 billion PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody licensing deal between 3SBio and Pfizer, along with an $11.1 billion joint development and commercialization collaboration for a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody between Bristol-Myers Squibb and BioNTech, once pushed the entire PD-1/VEGF field into a fervor.
However, after the overall survival (OS) data from 3SBio's head-to-head trial against Keytruda fell short of expectations, the market began to hesitate about the commercial potential of the PD-1/VEGF bispecific approach, and related licensing activity cooled in the second half of 2025.
Does the licensing deal between Remegen and AbbVie signify that the PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody赛道 is warming up again?
It is worth noting that new progress has been reported again for 3SBio's PD-1/VEGF candidate. Summit Therapeutics, the collaborator on this drug, announced on January 12 (local time) that it submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US FDA in the fourth quarter of 2025 for this drug. The application is for the treatment of patients with EGFR-mutated locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the second-line and later settings.
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