BeiGene (NASDAQ: BGNE) has announced a settlement and termination agreement with US firm Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene (BMS, NYSE: BMY), formally ending their previous partnership on December 31, 2023. As part of the agreement, both parties have agreed to withdraw arbitral proceedings. Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene will transfer 23,273,108 ordinary shares of BeiGene back to BeiGene, which were initially purchased in 2017, with no payment obligation from BeiGene for the transferred shares. BeiGene retains the right to sell Revlimid and Vidaza until the stocks are depleted or until December 31, 2024.
Historical Partnership and Market Impact
Celgene first partnered with BeiGene globally in July 2017, taking on the global development of BeiGene’s PD-1 inhibitor and granting exclusive rights in China to Abraxane (paclitaxel-albumin), Revlimid (lenalidomide), and Vidaza (azacitidine). These marketed products significantly boosted BeiGene’s product revenues, increasing by 70.1% year-on-year to USD 222.6 million by 2019. However, despite winning a volume-based procurement (VBP) tender for paclitaxel-albumin in January 2020, BeiGene’s product was barred from the China market following an inspection of Celgene’s out-sourced Abraxane manufacturer, leading to the loss of the VBP tender spot for the drug.
Arbitration and Production Suspension
In October 2021, Celgene reportedly planned to cancel the licensing deal with BeiGene, a move opposed by BeiGene, who filed an arbitral proceeding against the firm in the International Chamber of Commerce, seeking damage compensations. Celgene stated that due to the suspension of the import, sale, and use of albumin paclitaxel in China on March 25, 2020, it was unable to produce the drug for the Chinese market or globally. After the National Medical Products Administration suspended production and supply at its production base in Illinois, Celgene/BMS made one more attempt to resume production but failed. Currently, all production activities related to Abraxane at the Phoenix production base have been halted.-Fineline Info & Tech
