A group of licensing agreements, a CEO's warning about overenforcement of China dealmaking and multiple ESMO readouts made our news this week.
Among a string of licensing deals from last week, Takeda's tie-up with Innovent stole the show. Nkarta CEO Paul Hastings recently spoke to the importance of the industry's collaborations with Chinese biopharma companies. Asian biopharmas had a large presence at a major cancer conference over the weekend. Plus more.1. Takeda pays Innovent $1.2B upfront, offers whopping $10B-plus in biobucks for cancer assets In a year full of billion-dollar licensing deals involving Chinese biotechs, Takeda’s tie-up with Innovent stands out. The Japanese pharma giant agreed to put down $1.2 billion upfront and offered up more than $10 billion in potential milestones to get its hands on a pair of cancer assets from the Chinese drug developer. For Takeda, the deal represents an effort to identify sources of growth for the next decade as inflammatory bowel disease medicine Entyvio creeps toward its patent cliff. 2. ‘We can have TikTok. Why can’t we have drugs?’: Nkarta CEO Hastings warns against China biotech penalties At Fierce Biotech Week earlier this month, Nkarta CEO Paul Hastings urged the federal government to not crack down on the industry’s licensing of drug candidates from China. “We can have TikTok,” the biotech CEO explained, so “why can’t we have drugs?” The comments come at a time of geopolitical tensions, but China's licensing deals represent a critical source of innovation for the U.S. biopharma industry. 3. Licensing galore: Roche ties up with Hansoh on ADCs as Rani rounds out week with Chugai pact 4. Kite puts $1.6B on the line to pair up with China’s Pregene for another in vivo CAR-T deal Toward the end of last week, several Asian biopharma companies inked high-dollar licensing deals. In one deal, Roche agreed to pay up to $1.45 billion in exchange for an ex-China license to develop, manufacture and sell Hansoh's experimental CDH17-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) dubbed HS-20110. In addition to that deal, Rani Therapeutics linked up with Japan’s Chugai, a Roche subsidiary, in an oral delivery technology pact that could climb to more than $1 billion in value. Rounding out the action, Gilead’s Kite Pharma showcased its interest in in vivo CAR-T tech by striking an agreement with China’s Pregene. 5. Merck grows more ambitious about 'workhorse' TROP2 ADC as partner Kelun posts phase 3 wins The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress over the weekend featured data presentations from numerous Asian biopharmas, including Merck’s ADC partner Kelun-Biotech. Sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT), developed by China’s Kelun and licensed by Merck, excelled in separate studies in lung cancer and breast cancer, according to data presented at ESMO. The results contribute to Merck’s optimism about the candidate, Marjorie Green, M.D., Merck’s senior vice president and head of oncology global clinical development, told Fierce. 6. ESMO: Daiichi, Merck power ovarian cancer ADC toward pivotal test after passing phase 2 Also at ESMO, Merck and partner Daiichi Sankyo released new data for their CDH6-directed ADC raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd). In a phase 2 study assessing the candidate in patients with recurrent ovarian, primary peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer that was resistant to platinum chemotherapy, investigators recorded an overall response rate of 50.5%. The partners are now readying a push into phase 3. 7. ESMO: AZ, Daiichi’s Datroway outshines Gilead’s Trodelvy in first global TROP2 showdown 8. ESMO: AZ, Daiichi unleash Enhertu's 2-fisted power, aiming to reshape early breast cancer landscape Daiichi Sanyko’s presence at ESMO wasn’t limited to the R-DXd presentation. In fact, the Japanese company’s ADC alliance with AstraZeneca yielded two more impressive showings. As the partners duel with Gilead Sciences in the TROP2 ADC field, a new round of readouts points to an advantage for Datroway. And for the older Enhertu, a pair of trial readouts in early breast cancer open the door to a potential opportunity to advance patient care—while raising a new question. 9. China pricing pressure continues to weigh on Roche's diagnostics business Even as Roche contends with pricing pressures in China, the company’s diagnostics division was able to eke out 1% sales growth during the first 9 months of 2025. Overall, Roche’s diagnostic sales in the Asia-Pacific region were down 15% during the period, while sales in all other geographic regions were up. Year-to-date, Roche’s China diagnostic sales fell 27%, Matt Sause, CEO of Roche Diagnostics, said on Thursday. 10. ESMO: Akeso, Summit's ivonescimab beats PD-1 in first chemo combo win in 1st-line NSCLC As China’s Akeso and its U.S. partner Summit Therapeutics continue to break new ground with their PD-1xVEGF bispecific ivonescimab, the drug delivered another first at ESMO. Data revealed at the conference show that the therapy can delay tumor progression versus a PD-1 inhibitor as part of a combination with chemotherapy. The results come from a study limited to China.Other News of Note: 11. Lilly, Cipla link up in India tirzepatide distribution pact (release) 12. Japan VC firm Fast Track Initiative raises roughly $130M (release) 13. ESMO: GSK says 'stay tuned' for more ADC data after partner Hansoh posts 49% response rate 14. Regeneron settles Eylea patent dispute with Celltrion, allowing another biosimilar to launch at end of 2026 15. Astellas walks away from gene therapy pact with Taysha before pivotal trial launch