GSK, Hengrui Pharma to develop up to 12 medicines across Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation and Oncology

Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Published On 2025-07-29 09:00 GMT | Update On 2025-07-29 09:01 GMT

London: GSK plc has announced it has entered into agreements with Hengrui Pharma (600276.SH; 01276.HK) to develop up to 12 innovative medicines, adding significant new growth opportunities to the company beyond 2031.

The programmes were selected to complement GSK’s extensive Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation (RI&I) and Oncology pipeline, and assessed for their potential best- or first-in class profiles. GSK will pay $500 million in upfront fees across the agreements.

The agreements include an exclusive worldwide license (excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) for a potential best-in-class, PDE3/4 inhibitor (HRS-9821) in clinical development for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as an add-on maintenance treatment, irrespective of background therapy.

HRS-9821 has demonstrated potent PDE3 and PDE4 inhibition, leading to increased bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory effects in early clinical and preclinical studies. In addition, HRS-9821 provides the opportunity for a convenient dry-powder inhaler (DPI) formulation that fits GSK’s established inhaled portfolio.

The agreements also include a scaled collaboration to generate up to 11 programmes in addition to HRS-9821, each with its own financial structure. Hengrui Pharma will lead the development of these programmes up to completion of phase I trials, including patients outside of China. GSK will have the exclusive option to further develop and commercialise each programme worldwide (excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), at the end of phase I or earlier at GSK’s election, as well as certain programme substitution rights.

Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer, GSK said, "We're delighted to announce these exciting agreements with Hengrui Pharma which complement our already-extensive pipeline. This deal reflects our strategic investment in programmes that address validated targets, increasing the likelihood of success, and with the option to advance those assets with the greatest potential for patient impact.”

Frank Jiang, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Hengrui Pharma, said, "This strategic collaboration with GSK marks yet another significant milestone in Hengrui’s globalisation journey and our mission to innovate and deliver higher-quality, cutting-edge therapies for patients worldwide. GSK brings additional R&D expertise, a robust global clinical network, and broad regulatory capabilities that will accelerate our PDE3/4 inhibitor as well as an array of other innovative therapy programs to overseas markets, potentially delivering breakthrough treatments to patients globally."

The collaboration enables scale and speed to proof-of-concept to develop up to 11 additional medicines.

GSK will pay $500 million in upfront fees across the agreements including for the license of the PDE3/4 programme. The potential total value of future success-based development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments to Hengrui Pharma is approximately $12 billion if all programmes are optioned and all milestones are achieved. In addition, Hengrui Pharma will be eligible to receive tiered royalties on global product net sales (excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan).

The license to HRS-9821 is subject to customary conditions, including applicable regulatory agency clearances under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act in the US.

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Ruchika Sharma

Ruchika Sharma joined Medical Dialogue as an Correspondent for the Business Section in 2019. She covers all the updates in the Pharmaceutical field, Policy, Insurance, Business Healthcare, Medical News, Health News, Pharma News, Healthcare and Investment. She has completed her B.Com from Delhi University and then pursued postgraduation in M.Com. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in Contact no. 011-43720751

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GSK, Hengrui Pharma to develop up to 12 medicines across Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation and Oncology

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