Licensing analysis: Takeda saves the day

Small deals dominated the oncology licensing scene towards the end of last year, but one transaction bucked the trend: the $1.2bn that Takeda handed over to China’s Innovent.

After that, the biggest deal in the fourth quarter was a $100m tie-up between AstraZeneca and Jacobio over a pan-KRAS inhibitor, according to an analysis of OncologyPipeline. This follows a quiet third quarter for oncology licensing agreements.

Still, what the fourth quarter lacked in dollars it made up for in numbers. There were 32 agreements during this period – including product acquisitions and collaborations – versus 11 in the third quarter, and 21 in the second, when ApexOnco began carrying out this analysis.

Takeda’s cytokine bet

The $1.2bn fee agreed between Takeda and Innovent seems surprising, given that the main draw was IBI363, an anti-PD-1 x IL-2 fusion protein, and that cytokine-based approaches have seen various setbacks. But Takeda clearly has big hopes for the project, already disclosing plans for a raft of pivotal trials, on top of the ongoing MarsLight-11 in post-PD-L1 NSCLC.

The deal also gave Takeda rights to the anti-Claudin18.2 ADC arcotatug tavatecan, and an exclusive option over a bispecific anti-EGFR x B7-H3 ADC, IBI3001, both outside China.

AstraZeneca’s move for Jacobio’s JAB-23E73, although smaller, involved a hotter area: pan-KRAS inhibition. The leader here is Revolution Medicines, which is currently a rumoured acquisition target, although no buyer has yet emerged.

Also in the fourth quarter, Ask Pharm licensed Adlai Nortye’s pan-RAS(on) inhibitor AN9025 – but this deal only covered China rights, and was only worth $20m in up-front payments and near-term milestones.

PD-1 x VEGF

In another hot sector, Crescent licensed Kelun’s integrin beta-6 ADC SKB105 for $80m. The company plans to combine the project with CR-001, its anti-PD-1 x VEGF candidate, and the deal also saw Kelun gain rights to CR-001 in China, for $20m.

Other notable but small transactions in the fourth quarter included Roche’s swoop for Hansoh’s CDH17-targeting ADC HS-20110 for $80m up front; Incyte’s option over Prelude Therapeutics’ JAK2 V617F, a backup for its own INCB160058, for $35m in up-front cash and $25m in equity; Lyell's cash-and-stock move for Innovative Cellular Therapeutics' GUCY2C-targeting Car-T GCC19CART; and Gilead’s $30m purchase of RP-3467, a DNA Polθ inhibitor originated by the now defunct Repare Therapeutics.

Even smaller, but perhaps more intriguing, was Kazia Therapeutics’ licensing of a PD-L1 degrader, NDL2, from QIMR Berghofer for just $1.4m. This could become the first such molecule to enter the clinic; first-in-human testing is slated to begin in early 2027.

The sheer number of agreements shows that these kinds of tie-ups will keep fuelling the sector, but investors who have been piling into biotech in recent months might be hoping for bigger deals. After a quiet JP Morgan healthcare conference and a lacklustre fourth quarter for cancer M&A, they'll be keeping their fingers crossed for more in 2026.

Notable oncology licensing deals in Q4 2025 

Note: excludes deals covering biosimilars. Source: OncologyPipeline.