Gigi Hill, Alice Matthews and Charlie Adams share stand-out biopharma deals from the last quarter of 2025. Themes for the quarter include continued interest in in-licencing assets from Chinese biotechs, a renewed focus on immune-mediated diseases, and further investment in new modalities for treatment of obesity and associated cardiometabolic conditions.
Deal of the quarter
Takeda Pharmaceutical entered into a landmark global oncology licensing and collaboration agreement with Innovent Biologics for three solid tumor drug candidates. This reflects the accelerating trend of global big pharma selectively in-licensing assets from Chinese biotech innovators.
The deal grants Takeda exclusive rights outside of the US and Greater China (outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) to the immuno-oncology drug candidate IBI363 and the antibody-drug conjugate IBI343, which are investigational medicines being studied in Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials, respectively. The deal also grants an exclusive option to license IBI3001, another antibody-drug conjugate currently in Phase 1 trials.
Takeda paid Innovent US$1.2 billion upfront, including a US$100 million equity investment at a 20% premium to its current trading price on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Innovent is eligible for up to US$10.2 billion in clinical, regulatory and sales milestones across the three candidates, bringing the total potential deal value to US$11.4 billion.
Under co-development terms for the IBI363, Takeda and Innovent will share global development costs on a 60/40 split (Takeda/Innovent) and likewise share profits and losses 60/40 in the US. Takeda will lead US co-commercialisation of IBI363 with Innovent and will have the exclusive right to commercialise IBI363 outside of the US and Greater China. Takeda will also develop, manufacture and commercialise IBI343 worldwide, outside of Greater China. The cost/profit share structure demonstrates a move towards deeper collaborative economics, rather than simple fixed royalties. Innovent will also receive sales-based royalties on commercial sales outside Greater China for both IBI363 and IBI343, except with respect to IBI363 in the US. If Takeda exercises the option for IBI3001, Innovent will be eligible for an option exercise fee and additional potential milestone and royalty payments.
The deal indicates a sustained focus on bispecific and ADC modalities as the future backbone of treatment for solid tumors, a key trend that emerged from the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2026 – see our coverage of this here.
Other biopharma deals which caught our eye included:
- As part of the suite of immunology deals following a quieter year for deals in this area, Zenas BioPharma entered into a global licensing agreement with Chinese biotech InnoCare Pharma securing the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialise Orelabrutinib (an oral BTK inhibitor currently in phase 3 trial for multiple sclerosis) outside of China and Southeast Asia, and two other early-stage autoimmune candidates which are expected to enter phase 1 testing in 2026. The total transaction value exceeds US$2 billion, inclusive of development, regulatory, and commercial sales milestones across all three programs. The upfront and near-term consideration comprises up to US$100 million in cash and the issuance of up to seven million Zenas common shares upon the achievement of certain milestones, which are expected to be achieved in early 2026. InnoCare is also entitled to tiered royalties of up to the high-teens on annual net sales of commercialised products.
- Novartis and London-based Relation Therapeutics announced a collaboration leveraging Relation’s AI-enabled discovery platform aimed at advancing novel therapeutic targets for immune-mediated atopic diseases including eczema, asthma, and related allergic phenotypes. Relation will receive an initial US$55 million which includes an upfront cash payment, equity investment, and R&D support funding. The agreement provides for up to US$1.7 billion in milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on net sales of any resulting products. This discovery-stage deal, with economics that approach licensing values more typical of later-stage asset transactions, reflects the value of AI enabled target discovery.
- Biogen and US-based Vanqua Bio entered into a global exclusive licence agreement granting Biogen rights to a preclinical, orally administered C5aR1 antagonist that targets neutrophil-mediated inflammation, a validated mechanism across multiple inflammatory diseases. Biogen intends to advance the program into clinical development and to make an Investigational New Drug filing in 2027. Biogen will pay US$70 million upfront, and will lead future development, manufacturing and commercialisation activities. Vanqua is eligible for up to US$990 million in milestone payments and tiered royalties on net sales. For a preclinical small-molecule immunology asset, a near US$1 billion total deal value signals high confidence in the C5aR1 mechanism.
Finally, the race for the next generation of treatments for cardiometabolic diseases is hot with established players Novo and Lilly continuing to innovate, and new players vying for market share. Zealand Pharma and Shanghai-based OTR Therapeutics have entered into a collaboration and licence agreement for the discovery and development of novel oral small-molecule therapeutics for metabolic diseases using OTR's small-molecule platform. Zealand will assume clinical development, regulatory submissions, and global commercialisation responsibilities, while OTR will conduct discovery and preclinical activities using its proprietary R&D platform. Zealand will provide an upfront payment of approximately US$20 million, with the potential to increase to US$30 million, which reflects the discovery stage of the deal. OTR is also eligible for up to US$2.5 billion in milestone payments, with a majority representing commercial milestones, plus tiered single-digit royalties on worldwide net sales.
