Takeda has announced a major new collaboration with China-based Innovent Biologics, marking one of the Japanese pharmaceutical giant’s largest licensing deals to date. The agreement, worth more than $11 billion, is aimed at strengthening Takeda’s oncology pipeline with access to three next-generation cancer therapies.
Under the terms of the deal, Takeda will gain exclusive rights outside of Greater China to two of Innovent’s late-stage cancer drugs, as well as an option to license a third therapy that is currently in earlier stages of development. Innovent, headquartered in Suzhou, will receive an upfront payment of $1.2 billion from Takeda, alongside a $100 million equity investment at a 20% premium to its current share price on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
If all three therapies achieve their respective clinical and regulatory milestones, the total value of the collaboration could exceed $11.4 billion, with Takeda potentially paying an additional $10.2 billion in milestone-related payments.
This agreement comes as global pharmaceutical companies increasingly turn to China’s fast-growing biotech sector to source innovative drug candidates. Over the past year, licensing deals between major pharma firms and Chinese biotech companies have reached record highs, reflecting both the maturing capabilities of China’s research ecosystem and the industry’s need to offset losses from expiring drug patents.
Takeda, in particular, has faced financial pressure following the loss of market exclusivity for several of its key products, including its ADHD treatment Vyvanse. The resulting decline in revenue has prompted a major restructuring effort, including a decision to wind down its cell therapy operations and streamline its development portfolio.
Despite these challenges, the company continues to invest heavily in late-stage drug development, with several promising candidates in the pipeline. These include a novel sleep medication and an autoimmune disease therapy. Takeda has also made prior investments in Chinese-developed drugs, notably acquiring the colon cancer treatment Fruzaqla from Hutchmed in 2023.
The latest deal with Innovent adds to that momentum, with Takeda identifying the partnership as a “transformative” step for its oncology division.
One of the drugs included in the deal, IBI363, is a dual-targeting antibody designed to act on two cancer-related proteins: PD-1 and IL-2. Early studies have indicated that IBI363 could be effective across multiple solid tumour types, including in patients resistant to standard immunotherapies. The therapy is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 study, as well as three mid-stage trials involving lung and colorectal cancers.
The second treatment, IBI343, is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets Claudin 18.2, a protein often found in high levels in certain cancers. While clinical outcomes for Claudin 18.2-targeted therapies have varied so far, Takeda said Innovent’s candidate has demonstrated “promising clinical activity” in studies of gastric and pancreatic cancers, both of which have notably low survival rates.
A third compound, IBI3001, is a dual-target ADC targeting EGFR and B7H3 proteins. Innovent is currently evaluating the drug in an early-stage trial for patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumours. Takeda will gain rights outside of Greater China if it chooses to exercise its licensing option for the therapy.
The deal represents Takeda’s continued strategy of pursuing high-value partnerships to strengthen its innovation pipeline and maintain a competitive edge in the global oncology market.
