Reverse Mergers in Biopharma

The top deal upfront for Aug 2022 was the Sanofi development and commercialization deal with Innovent for SAR408701 and SAR444245. Sanofi granted Innovent exclusive rights to develop and commercialize its SAR408701 (tusamitamab ravtansine) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and gastric cancer in China. Additionally, Sanofi and Innovent will co-develop SAR444245 for the treatment of multiple cancer drugs. Sanofi will invest EUR300M (approx. $306.6M) in Innovent up front at HK$42.42 (approx. $5.40) per share in Innovent common stock. Sanofi is eligible for EUR80M (approx. $81.7M) in development milestones plus royalties for SAR408701, while Innovent is eligible to receive EUR60M (approx. $61.3M) in development milestones and royalties for SAR444245.

The top deal upfront for July 2022 was the Orion co-development and co-commercialization deal with MSD for ODM-208. Orion granted MSD rights to co-develop and co-commercialize ODM-208 for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Orion and MSD have an option to convert the co-development and co-commercialization agreement into a global exclusive license to MSD. Upon exercising the option, MSD will retain the responsibility for all accrued and future development and commercialization expenses associated with the program. Orion will receive $290M up front, including $221M recognized as income, and approximately $60.3M reserved to cover Orion’s share of ODM-208 future development cost. Orion is eligible for undisclosed development and commercialization milestones, plus double-digit tiered royalties.

The top deal upfront for June 2022 was the Sanofi development and commercialization deal with Regeneron for Libtayo (Amended Agreement). Sanofi granted Regeneron exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize Libtayo for the treatment of cancer. Regeneron and Sanofi signed a license agreement in 2015 to develop Libtayo. Sanofi will receive $900M up front and is eligible to receive up to a $100M milestone upon the first approval by either the FDA or EMA for Libtayo in combination with chemotherapy for first-line treatment of certain patients with NSCLC and up to $100M as a sales milestone in the next two years, plus 11% royalties.

The top deal upfront for May 2022 was the Dragonfly Therapeutics development and commercialization deal with Gilead Sciences for solid tumors. Gilead has an exclusive, worldwide option to develop and commercialize additional NK cell engager programs by using its Tri-specific NK Engager (TriNKET) platform after the completion of certain preclinical activities. Dragonfly will receive $300M up front and is eligible to receive undisclosed opt-in payments and development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, plus up to 20% royalties.

The top deal upfront for April 2022 was the Harbour BioMed development and commercialization deal with AstraZeneca for solid tumors. AstraZeneca will be responsible for all costs for development and commercialization. HBM will receive $25M up front and is eligible for up to $325M in development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, plus undisclosed tiered royalties.

The top deal upfront for March 2022 was the IGM development and commercialization deal with Sanofi for cancer, immunology, and inflammation. IGM will receive $150M up front and is eligible to receive up to $6.015B in regulatory and commercial milestones, which includes $940M for each of 3 cancer targets and $1.065B for each of 3 immunology/inflammation targets. Additionally, Sanofi has expressed an interest in purchasing up to $100M of IGM non-voting common stock in a public financing.

The top deal upfront for February 2022 was the Heidelberg development and commercialization partnership with Huadong for HDP-101, HDP-103, and options for HDP-102 (CD37-ATAC) and HDP-104. Heidelberg will receive $20M up front and is eligible for up to $449M in milestones with additional $461M in option payments upon exercise. Additionally, Huadong will invest EUR 105M (35%) in Heidelberg, with an initial commitment of EUR 80M by purchasing 12,408,649 shares at EUR 6.44 per share.

The top deal upfront for January 2022 was the Beam Therapeutics research partnership with Pfizer with an option to license in vivo base editing programs. Beam will receive $300M up front, up to up to $1.05B in development, regulatory, and sales milestones, plus royalties per licensed program. If Beam opts in to co-develop/co-promote a program, the companies will share cost and profits 65%/35% (Pfizer/Beam).

The top deal upfront for December 2021 was the Foghorn – Loxo (Eli Lilly) partnership for Foghorn’s Gene Traffic Control platform. Foghorn will receive $300M up front, a $80M upfront equity investment, and up to $1.3B in potential milestones, plus a US cost/profit split and ex-US royalties.

The top deal upfront for November 2021 was the Owkin – Sanofi artificial intelligence and federated learning platform research partnership to advance Sanofi’s oncology pipeline. Owkin will receive a $180M upfront equity investment, $90M in R&D funding over 3 years, and is eligible for additional undisclosed R&D milestones.