Licensing analysis: small deals dominate

After some chunky licensing deals in the first half of the year things slowed down in the third quarter. As well as a drop in the number of notable oncology transactions, these also tended to be smaller – indeed, none of the third-quarter tie-ups breached the $1bn barrier.

The biggest such transaction, according to an analysis of OncologyPipeline, was AbbVie’s $700m move for Glenmark's trispecific T-cell engager ISB 2001. Not far behind was an agreement between GSK and Jiangsu HengRui, worth $500m up front.

Asia interest

However, most if not all of the latter fee was driven by a respiratory disease project, HRS-9821; the partnership also includes 11 other programmes, each with its own financial structure, but not all will be in oncology; GSK also highlighted immunology as an area of interest. The assets are likely early, so it could be some time before further details emerge.

AbbVie’s interest in ISB 2001 looks clearer. The project hits two antigens, CD38 and BCMA, as well as CD3, and produced promising early results at ASCO in late-line multiple myeloma. Here, AbbVie will be taking on Johnson & Johnson, which already dominates multiple myeloma and is developing a trispecific T-cell engager of its own, targeting BCMA and GPRC5D.

It’s notable that both of the aforementioned transactions involved Western companies swooping for Asian assets – although the ISB 2001 deal was routed through Ichnos Glenmark, effectively the US subsidiary of India’s Glenmark.

Both are a far cry from the $1.25bn that Pfizer paid in May for a PD-1 x VEGF project from China’s 3SBio. This field has spurred some other meaty agreements, with Bristol Myers Squibb handing over $1.5bn for a share of BioNTech’s BNT327 in June. However, the third quarter didn’t see any action in this arena – suggesting any big groups still not active here aren’t being rushed into a purchase.

AstraZeneca had been rumoured to be preparing a $15bn bid for Summit, but a deal hasn’t emerged; meanwhile, AbbVie hasn’t been shy about its desire to enter this space. Another notable absentee is Roche.

Opportunistic

Other third-quarter deals look opportunistic, including the $55m that US WorldMeds paid for three Adaptimmune engineered T-cell receptor therapies, and the $10m Debiopharm spent on Repare’s PKMYT1 inhibitor lunresertib – likely spurred by a desire to combine that asset with its Wee1 inhibitor Debio 0123. 

And Bayer didn’t disclose the up-front fee it paid for global rights to Kumquat’s KRAS G12D inhibitor KQB548; perhaps the larger player was helped by growing competition in this space.

With the first quarter of 2025 also seeing mainly small deals, or those with undisclosed fees, perhaps the latest quarter is merely a return to form.

Notable oncology licensing deals in Q3 2025 

Source: OncologyPipeline.