(Yicai Global) Aug. 20 -- Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical has granted a Hong Kong-registered biomedical developer exclusive rights to develop a new cancer immunotherapy drug that is currently in phase-II clinical trials overseas to speed marketing of the drug abroad.

Its majority-owned unit Sichuan Kelun Bio-Tech Pharmaceuticals signed a license agreement with Harbour BioMed Therapeutics on Aug. 18, the pharma product developer announced today.

Kelun Bio-Tech will transfer its PD-L1 monoclonal antibody program with proprietary intellectual property rights for a fee, granting the latter the license to develop and market the new drug in areas other than Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and mainland China, under the agreement, per the announcement.

Harbour BioMed will acquire exclusive rights outside China to develop and commercialize the PD-L1 monoclonal antibody developed by Kelun Bio-Tech, including development rights for non-competitive drug therapy in combination with other drugs, the announcement said.

Harbour BioMed will pay the development fee and the milestone marketing fee to Kelun Bio-Tech up to a cumulative amount of USD152 million. When the product goes on sale and reaches a specific sales target, Harbour BioMed will also pay a cumulative sales milestone of up to USD205 million. After the product is on the market, Kelun Bio-Tech will also receive an annual sales commission in proportion to the agreement between the parties, the announcement disclosed.

The license agreement will help speed up the development of anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody programs worldwide, provide better treatment for cancer patients worldwide, and enhance the company's ability to internationalize innovative brands and programs, the announcement stated.

PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy reactivates the immune response of immune cells to tumors by blocking the PD-1/PD-L signal pathway to achieve the effect of anti-tumor and substantially increase patient survival. The new therapy has the potential to treat many types of tumors, public data shows.

Editor: Ben Armour