China’s drug giant seals $15.2 billion deal with America’s BMS

Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, China’s largest drug company, Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceutical, has signed a $15.2 billion collaboration and licensing agreement with American pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). Trump is visiting China from May 13 to 15 for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to reach, among others, a trade deal over tariffs and investments. 

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceutical, China’s largest drug company by market capitalisation, has signed a global collaboration and licensing agreement with US pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) worth up to $15.2 billion, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

The deal adds credibility to China’s growing reputation for innovative drug development, as China largely depends on the global multinational pharma firms to supply, it said. China’s pharmaceutical industry in recent years has grown from a mainly low-cost manufacturing base into innovative drug ecosystems, making it a major player in APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients), generics, biotech, contract manufacturing, and increasingly in novel drug discovery. China is one of the largest exporters of API, including to India.  The Jiangsu Hengrui-BMS collaboration covers four oncology and haematology programmes originating from Hengrui, four immunology assets from BMS, and another five novel programmes to be jointly developed using Hengrui’s discovery platforms, the Post reported. All 13 programmes are at the preclinical stage, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange.

BMS has agreed to pay Hengrui up to $950 million in near-term consideration, including an upfront payment of $600 million.

The overall deal value could reach about $15.2 billion if all development, regulatory and commercial milestones are met and options on the co-discovery projects are exercised, the report said.