Eli Lilly $LLY and Innovent Biologics have agreed to transfer sole commercialization rights for Lilly's breast cancer drug Verzenios in mainland China to Innovent, the companies said Monday.
Under the deal, Innovent will take over the importing, marketing, distributing, and promoting of Verzenios — known generically as abemaciclib — across mainland China. Manufacturing, supply, and development of the drug will remain with Lilly, which will also keep its status as marketing authorization holder, the companies said.
Verzenios is a CDK4 & 6 inhibitor approved in China for several breast cancer indications, including early breast cancer and locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The drug was added to China's National Reimbursement Drug List in 2021, becoming the first CDK4 & 6 inhibitor covered by national reimbursement in China, and renewed its listing in 2025 covering both early and advanced indications, the companies said.
China revenues for the drug reached 1.5 billion yuan ($221 million) last year, climbing from 1.4 billion yuan the prior year, according to Reuters, which cited figures from data provider PharmCube.
A backdrop to the deal is the regulatory clearance granted this year to a subsidiary of Qingfeng Pharmaceutical Group for a copycat version of Verzenios in China. That generic product is barred from entering the market before Lilly's Chinese compound patent runs out, an event not expected until late 2029, according to Reuters.
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Michael Yu, founder, chairman, and CEO of Innovent, called the deal the company's eighth collaboration with Lilly and said it brings the number of partnered, on-market products in China to seven. "Breast cancer, one of the most prevalent and life-threatening malignancies among women, is a strategic priority within Innovent's oncology portfolio," Michael Yu said in a statement.
Huzur Devletsah, Lilly's group vice president and China general manager, said the agreement "is an important step in strengthening patient access in China, combining Lilly's global R&D expertise with Innovent's commercialization capabilities in China," in a statement.
Breast cancer affects upward of 350,000 people in China on an annual basis.