(Reuters) -AbbVie has obtained the option to license a new blood cancer drug candidate from Simcere Pharmaceutical’s unit for markets outside China, in a deal valued at up to $1.06 billion, the companies said on Monday.
The U.S. drugmaker will make upfront and milestone payments, and pay royalties on sales outside China, while it would receive royalties on sales within China.
The drug candidate, SIM0500, is currently undergoing early-stage clinical trials in both China and the U.S. in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
AbbVie has been focusing on expanding its pipeline since its blockbuster arthritis drug, Humira, lost patent protection last year.
The firm has bought neuroscience drug developer Cerevel Therapeutics, cancer drug developer ImmunoGen and Alzheimer’s therapy developer Aliada in 2024 through deals worth over $20 billion in total.
(Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
