AstraZeneca has acquired the global rights to Dizal Pharmaceutical’s Zegfrovy (sunvozertinib), marking the drugmaker’s second venture to China in a month in search of new assets.

As per the license agreement, AstraZeneca will pay an upfront fee of $600m, with a further $900m to follow if specific development, regulatory and sales-related milestones are met.

AstraZeneca has acquired worldwide rights to develop and commercialise Zegfrovy, though Dizal will still receive tiered royalties on global sales.

In licensing Zegfrovy, AstraZeneca has gained an asset already generating revenue. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor is approved in the US and China for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, whose disease has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

In 2025, Zegfrovy generated approximately $83.4m in revenue for Dizal, marking an 85% year-over-year increase. This is likely related to the drug gaining US accelerated approval in July 2025, increasing the drug's market considerably. The drug was approved in China in August 2023.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women, accounting for about one-fifth of all cancer deaths. NSCLC is by far the most common type of lung cancer.

The high fee reflects Zegfrovy’s potential to enter the first-line setting. A supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for approval in this earlier treatment stage has been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and China’s Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE).

The regulatory applications were based on positive results from Dizal’s global WU-KONG28 Phase III trial of Zegfrovy in first-line NSCLC with exon 20 insertion EGFR mutations. In March 2026, the Chinese biopharma revealed positive topline data and demonstrated that Zegfrovy improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared to platinum-based doublet chemotherapy.

The results were presented as a Late-Breaking Abstract Oral Presentation at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Currently, Johnson & Johnson's (J&J’s) intravenously administered Rybrevant (amivantamab) in combination with chemo is the only front-line medication approved for this subset of NSCLC patients.

Dave Fredrickson, executive vice president of AstraZeneca’s oncology haematology business unit, said: “AstraZeneca is a leader in treating EGFR-mutated lung cancer, and we are eager to add Zegfrovy to our world-class portfolio of innovative medicines for patients whose tumours carry exon 20 insertion mutations. With this agreement, we will bring a differentiated, oral targeted treatment to these patients with limited options across the globe.”

Zegfrovy will join AstraZeneca’s large oncology portfolio that includes Tagrisso (osimertinib). Also approved for EGFR-mutated NSCLC, Tagrisso generated around $7.3bn in 2025, making it one of the highest selling cancer drugs in the world.

The Dizal deal marks the second time in a month that AstraZeneca has ventured to China in search of expanding its drug portfolio. In June, the big pharma company signed a deal worth up to $5.2bn with CSPC Pharmaceuticals to research chronic disease drug candidates.

AstraZeneca is one of many Western drugmakers to partner with Chinese biotechs in recent years. The country is now responsible for 20% of drugs in development globally, reflecting the powerhouse role the country has embraced in the pharmaceutical industry.

Separately, AstraZeneca has also committed $15bn to expand R&D and manufacturing capabilities in China. Existing sites in Wuxi, Beijing, Qingdao and Taizhou will be expanded, while construction will start on new facilities across the country.