Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group entered into an exclusive license agreement and strategic investment with Avere Therapeutics, an investee company of Hansoh Pharma focused on advancing oral therapies for IL-23 driven inflammatory diseases.
Under the agreement, Hansoh Pharma has granted Avere the exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize HS-20118 (AVR-001), a treatment in clinical trials for patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, globally (excluding the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan).
Hansoh Pharma is eligible to receive upfront payments totaling $120 million and up to $2.18 billion in milestone payments associated with development and sales.
Concurrently with the licensing agreement, Avere and NextCure agreed to combine in an all-stock transaction and the combined entity will operate as Avere Therapeutics. Hansoh Pharma made a $320 million private placement concurrent with the transaction and is expected to hold between 30 and 40 percent of the combined company’s total issued share capital.
The S&C team advising Hansoh Pharma on both transactions includes Rachel Yu, Brad King, Elizabeth Cheung and Alexander Bavis.