China's Innovent Biologics signs US$10.5 billion Pfizer deal for 12 cancer drug trials

China's Innovent Biologics has signed a global collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer worth up to US$10.5 billion to jointly develop 12 cancer treatment programmes.
The Hong Kong-listed drug maker said it would receive an upfront payment of US$650 million from Pfizer, and it is eligible for up to US$9.85 billion tied to development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, according to an exchange filing on Friday.
Innovent, which is based in Suzhou in China's eastern Jiangsu province, will also receive double-digit royalties for each product that gains approval.
The deal covers a portfolio of 12 oncology: programmes, comprising eight early-stage assets originated by Innovent and four discovery programmes proposed by Pfizer.
Innovent will lead phase one clinical trials for all 12 programmes before Pfizer leads their global development.
Under four of the programmes, the companies will jointly develop and co-commercialise selected assets in the United States and Europe, while Innovent retains all rights in China.
Pfizer will receive an exclusive licence outside China for another four programmes, and for the remaining four, Pfizer will take on an exclusive global licence.

Innovent's shares rose 11.36 per cent to HK$83.35 apiece on Friday, outpacing Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index. "The company views this collaboration as another milestone towards achieving global capabilities;' Michael Yu, Innovent Biologics' chairman and executive director said in the filing. "By leveraging both companies' complementary resources, [Innovent] can develop its early-stage oncology pipeline with greater speed and impact to help bring innovative therapies to patients more efficiently
worldwide."
"Co-developing and co-commercializing key programmes in the US and Europe expand Innovent's global reach," he added.
The tie-up follows Innovent's US$11.4 billion 12artnershi12 with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical, announced in October, which gave Takeda rights to develop and commercialise a separate group of oncology assets outside China.
Innovent is the first Chinese company cleared to sell weight loss drugs, and last year reported its first full-year profit since going public in 2018. It posted a net profit of 813.6 million yuan in 2025,
compared with a loss of 94.63 million yuan in 2024.
For the first quarter of 2026, its total product revenue amounted to over 3.8 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of over 50 per cent, the company said.

The Innovent-Pfizer deal is the latest example in the transformation in China's pharmaceutical industry. Cross-border out-licensing by Chinese firms hit US$60 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone, according to the National Medical Products Administration, almost half of the total out-licensing agreements signed in 2025, which amounted to US$135.7 billion.
The surge is supported by the Chinese government's policies, as thecountry's drug regulator accelerates clinical trial approvals to bring home-grown, innovative drugs to market faster.
China's regulator has cleared 19 pharmaceuticals so far this year, 15 from domestic companies, according to the regulator's website as of May 21.
The country now accounts for a larger share of newly launched clinical trials than Europe, and is closing the gap with the United States in the number of new global drug approvals, according to a report published by Dutch financial services group ING on Wednesday.

Originally published in the South China Morning Post: Opens in a new tabhttps://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3355269/chinas-innovent-biologics-signs-us105-billion-pfizer-deal-12-cancer-drug-trials