Bristol Myers Squibb $BMY announced on Tuesday a collaboration and licensing agreement with China's Hengrui Pharma covering 13 early-stage programs, with a potential total value of up to $15.2 billion.
Under the terms, Bristol Myers will pay Hengrui up to $950 million through 2028, including a $600 million upfront payment, a $175 million payment on the first anniversary of closing, and a $175 million contingent payment in 2028. The full $15.2 billion figure includes milestone payments tied to development, regulatory, and commercial targets, as well as options for jointly discovered programs, the company said.
Structured across three tracks, the deal brings together four of Hengrui's oncology and hematology candidates, four immunology compounds originating from Bristol Myers, and a set of five programs to be jointly developed by both companies. All 13 programs are at an early stage and have not yet entered human clinical trials, according to Reuters.
Outside of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, the rights to Hengrui's candidates belong exclusively to Bristol Myers; within that same territory, Bristol Myers' immunology compounds will be Hengrui's to exploit, with Bristol Myers keeping its own commercial access everywhere else. Across all 13 programs, responsibility for early clinical development and proof-of-concept work falls to Hengrui.
Hengrui is also eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales of products commercialized outside its home territory, Bristol Myers said.
"By leveraging complementary capabilities across geographies, we aim to accelerate early clinical learning and make informed decisions that support driving top tier growth in the next decade," Bristol Myers Squibb EVP and Chief Research Officer Robert Plenge said in a statement.
Hengrui EVP and Chief Strategy Officer Frank Jiang said in a statement that the deal "reflects Hengrui's continued commitment to strengthen our global presence."
The transaction is subject to review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The parties expect the deal to close in the third quarter of 2026, Bristol Myers said.
For large global pharmaceutical companies, China has become an increasingly attractive hunting ground for early-stage assets, offering a deep pool of experimental compounds and a comparatively swift route to clinical proof of concept, Bloomberg reported. The scale of that activity is substantial: government figures cited by Bloomberg show Chinese companies signed out-licensing agreements totaling more than $130 billion in 2025 alone.