Hong Kong-listed Sino Biopharmaceutical will acquire China-based oncology specialist LaNova Medicines in a deal that will not exceed $951m, representing one of the largest transactions within the Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical arena this year.
Sino already owns a 4.91% stake courtesy of an investment in November 2024, with the company now seeking to purchase the remaining 95.09% it does not own. At the time, Sino spent 142 million yuan ($19.80m) to initiate its ownership involvement with the biotech.
The net payment made by Sino to acquire LaNova will be approximately $500.9m, a figure that excludes the estimated cash and bank deposits, according to a company document outlining the terms of the transaction.
Following the completion of the nearly billion-dollar deal, LaNova Medicines will become an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Sino. A timeline of 30 business days has been set by the companies to finalise the deal.
Sino revealed the acquisition agreement after trading hours on 15 July. The share price in the company had climbed 3.6% by market close.
LaNova’s drug development focuses on tumour immunity and the tumour microenvironment. The company has particular emphasis on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and has built several platforms within this modality.
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By GlobalDataSino stated the acquisition would strengthen its research and development capabilities, subsequently enhancing competitiveness and innovation in the oncology market.
LaNova’s pipeline has already been raided twice by US big pharma companies. In 2023, AstraZeneca licensed LM-305, a G-protein targeting-ADC, for $600m. A year later, MSD outlaid more than $3bn to secure global rights to LM-299, an anti-PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody.
According to Sino, LaNova Medicines has two projects in the registration clinical stage, six projects in the Phase I/II clinical trial stage, and more than ten projects in the preclinical research stage.
In a statement, Sino said: “Through the in-depth synergy and integration of the advantageous resources of both parties, not only will the potential value of LaNova Medicines be fully released, but also [Sino’s] innovation capability will be comprehensively enhanced.”
The company added that the transaction will help towards its “strategic goal of advancing towards a world-class innovative pharmaceutical enterprise”.
China’s economy grew 5.2% year-on-year in Q2, defying the lingering effects of US President Trump’s trade war and reinforcing its position as the world’s top exporter. This economic resilience is mirrored in China’s growing role in the global oncology market. Despite economic pressures, licensing promising drug candidates from Chinese biotechs is becoming a well-trodden path for many US big pharma companies.
Licensing deals between US and Chinese biopharma companies hit record highs last year, a 280% increase from 2020, according to analysis by GlobalData.
Across big pharma, transactions rose 66% from $16.6bn in 2023 to $41.5bn in 2024, demonstrating that China is still the go-to place to discover pipeline candidates. For deals specific to US companies, the analysis found that total deal value rose from $15.7bn in 2023 to $21.3bn in 2024.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
