Zhitong Financial App News, Hengrui Pharmaceutical (600276.SH) announced that the company reached an agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S (“Novo”) to license Hengrui's potential weekly oral administration of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and gastric suppressive peptide (GIP) dual agonist HRS-1596 (“HRS-1596”) for a fee. Novo will obtain exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize HRS-1596 on a global scale outside of Greater China. The deal's potential total transaction value could reach up to $2.6 billion, including a $300 million down payment and payments received after reaching relevant development, registration, and commercialization milestones. Additionally, Hengrui will be eligible to receive a corresponding sales commission based on HRS-1596's net sales within the authorized region.
HRS-1596 is a GLP-1/GIP dual receptor agonist independently developed by Hengrui. HRS-1596 aims to reduce weight and improve blood sugar control through multiple mechanisms such as suppressing appetite, promoting insulin secretion, and improving insulin sensitivity, and has potential for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic diseases. HRS1596 is expected to achieve weekly oral administration. Compared with existing treatment options, it can significantly reduce the frequency of medication and improve the convenience of medication use. Hengrui has been approved in China to conduct phase I clinical trials of HRS-1596 for weight management and type 2 diabetes.
The signing of the agreement will help broaden HRS-1596's overseas markets, provide high-quality treatment options for patients around the world, and further enhance the company's innovative brand and overseas performance. The company insists on placing equal emphasis on independent R&D and open cooperation, strengthens international cooperation on the basis of endogenous development, achieves rapid transformation of R&D results, uses leading international partners to cover overseas markets, accelerate integration into the global pharmaceutical innovation network, maximize product value, and enable the company to innovate products to serve patients around the world.