Pfizer and Innovent Biologics will partner to research and develop 12 early-stage and de novo antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) designed to treat various cancers, the companies said today, through a collaboration that could generate up to $10.5 billion for the Chinese biotech.
The companies said they have signed a strategic global licensing and collaboration agreement that includes licensing, co-development, and co-commercialization deals for both the ADCs, which would be created with payloads that differentiate them from other conjugates, as well as multi-specific antibodies, to be developed with unique designs and differentiated immune-engaging features.
Pfizer and Innovent plan to work across a portfolio of 12 programs—eight early-stage programs originating with Innovent, and four Pfizer discovery programs. The companies said they will co-develop and share costs for selected programs as they advance them through clinical development.
The collaboration is intended to marry Pfizer’s global scientific, clinical development, regulatory, and commercial scale capabilities with Innovent’s scientific discovery and clinical capabilities in oncology.
“By combining Innovent’s discovery and early clinical development with Pfizer’s global research and development and commercialization capabilities, we have an opportunity not only to strengthen our pipeline, but to accelerate the delivery of breakthroughs that can redefine standards of care and make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives,” Jeff Legos, Pfizer’s chief oncology officer, said in a statement.
Racing the ‘patent cliff’
Like other biopharma giants, Pfizer is racing the proverbial “patent cliff” by building a pipeline of new treatments capable of recouping the billions that it stands to lose in coming years as its aging blockbuster drugs lose patent exclusivity in the U.S. and other key markets.
GEN’s A-List of Top 20 Drugs Heading for the Patent Cliff through 2029 includes two Pfizer treatments. One is Prevnar 13/Prevenar 13 (pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine [diphtheria CRM197 Protein]), which lost U.S. exclusivity starting March 31; and the prostate cancer drug Xtandi® (enzalutamide), co-marketed with Astellas Pharma and set to lose U.S. exclusivity in 2027.
Pfizer generated $6.494 billion last year, up 1% from 2024, and another $1.69 billion in the first quarter, up 2% from a year ago, in revenues from its Prevnar family, which includes Prevnar 20/Prevenar 20 (Pneumococcal 20-valent Conjugate Vaccine), as well as the Prevnar 13/Prevenar 13 vaccines.
Xtandi racked up $2.194 billion in 2025, up 8% from a year earlier, and $444 million in Q1, down 3% from the year-ago quarter, in revenues in the U.S. and more than 90 other countries, including the EU and Japan—primarily reflecting alliance revenues and royalty revenues.
Oncology focus
Oncology is among therapeutic areas where Pfizer has sought to bolster its pipeline and portfolio of marketed drugs in recent years. The pharma giant acquired ADC-focused drug developer Seagen for $43 billion in 2023, a deal that cleared expected antitrust hurdles and doubled Pfizer’s oncology pipeline to some 60 programs spanning multiple modalities, including ADCs, small molecules, bispecifics and other immunotherapies.
Last year, Pfizer launched an up-to-$1.5 billion global ex-China licensing agreement with another Chinese biotech, 3SBio. In that deal, Pfizer agreed to pay $1.25 billion upfront, make a $100 million equity investment in 3SBio equity, and pay up to $150 million in return for an option for exclusive development and commercialization rights in China to SSGJ-707, a bispecific antibody targeting PD-1 and VEGF.
Outside of oncology, Pfizer acquired obesity drug developer Metsera for up-to-$10 billion last October following a bidding war with Novo Nordisk that ended with some help from Washington.
And in February, Pfizer inked a commercialization deal of undisclosed value with Chinese drug developer Hangzhou Sciwind Biosciences giving Pfizer exclusive commercialization rights in China to the obesity therapy ecnoglutide, an new‑generation cAMP‑biased glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP‑1) receptor agonist delivered via injection.
While Innovent has successfully developed an obesity treatment, mazdutide, the company specializes in cancer drug development, building a combined portfolio and development pipeline of 37 programs—23 of them in oncology including the PD-1 inhibitor Tyvyt® (sintilimab). The fully human IgG4 monoclonal antibody was first approved in China in 2018 and is now indicated to treat three forms of non-small cell lung cancer, classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and forms of endometrial, gastric/esophageal, kidney, and liver cancers.
‘Greater speed and impact’
“By leveraging both companies’ complementary resources, we can develop our early-stage oncology pipeline with greater speed and impact to help bring innovative therapies to patients more efficiently worldwide,” stated Hui Zhou, MD, PhD, Innovent’s chief R&D officer for its oncology pipeline. “Furthermore, co-developing and co-commercializing key projects in the U.S. and Europe expands Innovent’s global reach.”
Innovent plans to carry out development of the Pfizer-partnered programs through Phase I, applying its discovery engine and robust early clinical capabilities, after which Pfizer will oversee future global development. Pfizer will receive an exclusive global license for four programs, and assume their global development costs, as well as an exclusive license outside Greater China for four other programs, having agreed to shoulder an unspecified majority of the development costs.
Pfizer and Innovent also agreed to co-develop four programs globally, sharing their development costs. The companies plan to co-commercialize in the U.S., the European Union (E.U.), and the United Kingdom (U.K.), agreeing in return to share their profits—while Innovent will retain Greater China rights to these programs.
Pfizer has agreed to pay Innovent $650 million upfront and up to $9.85 billion in payments tied to achieving development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. Pfizer also agreed to pay Innovent up to double-digit royalties on sales of each licensed product if approved, with the companies agreeing to share their profits in the U.S., the EU, and the U.K.
The collaboration transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
In October, Innovent launched an up to $11.4 billion collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical aimed at speeding up the development of Innovent’s next-generation immuno-oncology therapies as well as ADCs.
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